Samuel - 22 months!

Today, Samuel is 22 months old!

What a HUGE blessing this little guy is! He is always keeping us on our toes and helping us grow in love and patience ;) He still LOVES his Monkey, all types of food (especially yogurt and ice-cream!), and being tossed around by his abba! He enjoys touching the screen of all electronic devices and playing the instruments on momma's iPad. He has recently enjoyed Thomas the Tank Engine toys and loves banging on the snare drum that he got for Christmas (just like his grandpa).

This kid never stays still and has the energy of the Energizer Bunny. Although it can wear momma and abba OUT, we just LOVE our active, precious, sweet, persistent little boy! He brings so much joy to our lives as he learns, plays and grows! 

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Benjamin - 4 months old!

I can't believe my baby is already 4 months old! I definitely think this is when babies begin showing more personality and are so much fun to love! We love this little guy and can't imagine life without him. He is such a joy and brings smiles to all our faces. Samuel is just LOVING having a little brother around and takes every opportunity he can to pet Benjamin's soft, little head. It's so cute to watch Samuel love his little brother. 

Benjamin is doing so well, growing fast, and getting well-acquainted with the world around him. He is 18.9 lb. and 26.25 in.  BIG boy just like his big brother! We will start on solid foods soon and I just know he's going to be a fan. Looking forward to this new stage but it does make me realize how fast he is growing up! {Sigh} He is also sleeping wonderfully, giving us a good 11-12 hours a night. This is so helpful to allow more rest for momma and abba!

Benjamin is such an easy-going little guy. Napping pretty well {for the most part} and nursing even better! He holds his head and upper body up very well during tummy time which is probably why he has begun rolling onto his back in the middle of the night. He looks like a little turtle, helpless to flip himself back over. :)

We are so grateful to God for this little guy and look forward to seeing how he grows and changes.

{Had to throw in one of this handsome fellow stuffing his face with popcorn ;)}

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Photo-a-Days 1.12-1.19

So I've decided that I'm going to post each week's (or so) photos on one blog post. It just gets a little too hectic to try and post every single day with all the different responsibilities. And I'm okay with that. 

Photo-a-Day 1.12: Surprise

 I was keeping some balloon stickers for a rainy day so that Samuel would have something fun to create with and draw on. So this was my surprise for him :)

Photo-a-Day 1.13: Circle

FAIL. 

 Photo-a-Day 1.14: Something yellow

 Photo-a-Day 1.15: An ordinary moment

Photo-a-Day 1.16: Two {of my favorite} things

Ok, more than two. I LOVE a good Cinnamon Swirl coffee cake with a hot cup of coffee. This happens to be a decaf mocha. I also LOVE when I get a minute away to relax and read. And I LOVE The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace.

Photo-a-Day 1.17: Ready

Interesting how my day started off in Luke 12 where Jesus is warning to be ready for the Day of the Lord.

Photo-a-Day 1.18: Shadow

FAIL. {But I do plan on shooting a shadow soon. I don't think I stepped out of the house for more than a moment on this day because of the cold weather, however, I look forward to capturing the perfect shadow soon!}

 Photo-a-Day 1.19: Delicious

No caption needed. Simply, irresistibly, delish.

 

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Photo-a-Days 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11

Photo-a-Day 1.7: Street

{Taken on the handy-dandy iPhone}

Photo-a-Day 1.8: Something beginning with the letter 'T'

Toes.

Photo-a-Day 1.9: Paper

A page from my Bible.

Photo-a-Day 1.10: One o'clock

I set my alarm to 1pm and I happened to be taking a short cat-nap. So I picked up my iPhone and took a shot half awake. :)

Photo-a-Day 1.11: Water

Rain on my window early this morning!

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Kind to the Ungrateful

This morning as I was reading a chapter in the Gospel of Luke, I was overwhelmed meditating on how God loves the ungrateful and works in me to do the same: 

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:35-36

In recent days, I've noticed my son doing much more whining and pouting than he ever has. Some say, "oh, it's just the terrible twos and he'll get over it." I say it's part an inadequacy to properly communicate his needs and wants, and partly an ungratefulness for what he already has. In response to the abundance of whining going on around this little apartment, it is far too easy to become impatient, harsh, and unkind. I find myself being sharp with my words and quick with my actions. Oftentimes, I feel like the whining has brought me to the end of my rope. And THEN, God opens my eyes, yet again, to the wonderous things in His law...

Unlike me and my tendency to get up-tight and short-tempered, God, my perfect Heavenly Father is kind to the ungrateful and evil. In all my silent complaints against God's providence and goodness, I am doing nothing less than being a big whiner and yet God in His perfect love and compassion, graciously reminds me that He is kind, gentle, patient, and forgiving of the whining that so grieves Him. He is good and only seeks good for those who love Him and here I am restless in the face of His sovereignty. 

As a momma, my life is characterized by giving without return and spending without instant reward. In my selfishness, I can get "overwhelmed" by how much I am exerting and how little I'm getting in return. However, this little gem of Scripture reminds me that I am called to give without receiving because my Father in Heaven has given the ultimate Gift without any price that I could ever pay! He has loved His enemies, done good to those who rebel against Him, and given expecting nothing in return by sending His Son to atone for my sins - ungratefulness being one of them. 

During the times that I am tempted to snap because I've said "no" more than I've blinked and have heard "nah nah nah" for the umpteenth time, I will seek to remember the gracious kindness of my Father toward a whiny, ungrateful, unkind, yet forgiven sinner like me.

May my words be gentle and kind and may I reflect the character of my perfect, kind, patient, and loving Father to my precious children every moment of their lives...

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Photo-a-Day 1.6: Mine

Photo-a-Day 1.6: {Mine}

MY boys! Gifts from the Lord, of course, but nobody else in the world besides me and Joshua can call these precious ones theirs. We love them!

This Photo-a-Day challenge seems to be turning into a display of everything Samuel and Benjamin. I'm sure that when it gets warmer, I can start taking more pictures outside of everything beautiful there is to see...and more of the boys :)

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Photo-a-Day 1.5: Movement

Photo-a-Day 1.5: {Movement}

Today I'm thinking a little outside the box. At first I was going to post a picture that I took with a slow shutter speed of Benjamin playing with his bouncy toy to convey "movement." However, I shot this sweet picture of Benjamin's little hand resting on my dad's wrist this evening {they're visiting and I'm so happy about that!} and thought, "wow, time flies and generations pass..." My dad's ticking watch...the generations represented...the time that passes {too} fast - this is "movement." 

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Photo-a-Day 1.4: The view from here {and a visit from Amber}

Photo-a-Day 1.4: {The view from here}

Today's photo is what I most often have in view: laundry. And today, especially, I am conquering this crazy mound of laundry! It is so worth it, though, as I am cleaning up from having one of my very best friends, Amber, and her son Zacchaeus visit me these past 6 days. We had such a fun time chatting and laughing and cleaning up after the boys :) I miss her already! 

Some pictures from our visit:

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Photo-a-Day 1.3: Heart

Photo-a-Day 1.3: {HEART}

The photo instruction was this: Heart: Take a photo of a heart, or a heart shape.

So, instead of looking for a heart, I decided to take pictures of two little boys that take up a great deal of my heart :)

I'm loving this challenge and being able to be creative with how I use the camera. 

Until tomorrow...or the next day...

May my heart, though it is SO full of love for these boys  and my dear husband, always be pining after my First Love, Jesus!

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

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A new {and fun} challenge!

Yesterday, I took on a new challenge. Photo-a-day. Joshua encouraged me to pursue photography as a hobby and I'm so glad he did. I LOVE it! And to help cultivate both a love and a talent for this art, I've decided to take a specific photo a day. This, of course, does not limit me to only one photo, but helps encourage me on days that I may not feel as "snappy" with the camera. I found the list here and plan to visit it each month and download it to my calendar. 

This week, I plan on posting a 2012 review {a little late} with highlights from this past year, but for now I'll finish with yesterday and today's Photo-a-Day :)

{TODAY 01.01.13}

This photo is what yesterday was all about...New goals and resolutions. Although I am not the type to be gung-ho about New Year's Resolutions, I do love the idea of starting fresh with goals for a better, godlier year. So I started a "Goals for 2013" list and pray that as I work on it, God uses it to convict me in areas I need to grow and gives me grace to change! Here are my four overarching resolves that consist of specific, tangible, and reasonable goals:

1. Grow more intimately with the LORD by:...
2. Love my husband by:...
3. Love my children by:...
4. Care for others by:...

It has been refreshing to explore Scripture more intentionally to form these specific aims. I will continue to review my list and add as the Lord lays it on my heart and brings it to my attention. 

{SOMETHING NEW 01.02.13}

Although this little guy isn't "brand" new, he's definitely new-ish, and I can never resist snapping a photo of him, so I used him to January 2nd's Photo-a-Day :)

May God grant us all stamina and faith to continue well in this brand-new year!

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