Benjamin - 8 Months old!

So I'm a couple days late for Benjamin's monthly review, but here it is! WOW! Do we just love this guy!!!

He is learning and growing so fast! From picking up his own food, to making strides to being  a crawler, Benjamin is always amazing us! He is still pretty flexible, which makes it nice having a very active brother who loves to be on the go! 

Also, Benjamin is starting to do things like lifting his bottom and getting on all fours which make us think he is just around the corner from crawling! Boy will we have our hands VERY full when he eventually gets going! Already, he has such a tight grip and is not very happy when things are taken away from him. I have a feeling he isn't going to like the word "no." But, we'll cross that bridge when we get there (sooner than we think...)!

Benjamin loves to put anything in his mouth and that has proven to be dangerous these days! Our poor little guy contracted a nasty stomach bug this past week. He was the most miserable I have ever seen him, not eating and screaming all the time! We did all we could to make him feel more comfortable. It was definitely a shock to my system as he was waking up 3-4 times a night with dirty diapers. How quickly I forgot what it was like to be up in the middle of the night. God gave me (and my poor husband!) such strength and supernatural energies!  Praise be to God, he is starting to act like himself - cheerful with a HUGE appetite :) Still working on some stomach issues, but he is definitely on the mend! 

We LOVE LOVE LOVE this guy and are so thankful for him! Still can't believe that he's 8 months old!

Here are a couple pictures of our little man!

We call him "BenjiMater"because his two little teeth remind us of Mater from Disney's Cars! LOL!! 

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Facebook and Graduation

Whelp! I've been on quite a hiatus in recent months. In the midst of moving from Louisville, KY to Santa Clarita, CA and preparing to graduate with my Master's in Biblical Counseling, I haven't had big chunks of time to sit down, edit pictures, and write much. I even skipped Benjamin's monthly post as we were smack-dab in the middle of packing and moving.

Also in the midst of not blogging, I decided to remove myself from the Facebook world. After lots of prayer, discussion with faithful friends, and a few helpful blog posts, I realized I was spending too much precious and valuable time browsing photos, writing on walls, and simply "checking facebook" for who knows what! It became somewhat of an addiction. I began to feel comforted by the continual "checking" and browsing. This post really helped me get a better understanding of my own heart when it came to this newfound "love." The author pointed out that we tend to "check" Facebook at our lowest moments and compare our lives with the perfect ones that we see on Facebook. (Who doesn't try to put their best foot forward?) Though I felt like I wasn't necessarily comparing myself with every status and photo I saw, I was wasting a great deal of time essentially becoming a busy body going from profile to profile in search of the latest "news" that my friends and acquaintances had to share (see girltalk blog's post on this here). So as I examined my heart and habits, I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth my time investing in this avenue of social media. Since then, Joshua and I have come together to create a family-type facebook page where we can keep in touch with family and friends and post pictures. We think this will be best for our goals as a couple and a family :)

~~~

Since arriving in CA, I managed to graduate with my Masters in Biblical Counseling! Yay! It's been a long time coming and I'm thankful to have this season of studies completed. Now on to continue studying the art of mommy-hood and homemaking for my 3 guys :)

(I have a beautiful life.)

I feel like there is just so much that I could write about since it has been so long. Days are long and busy and it has actually taken me almost a week to get this one post completed so I'll leave with this...God is doing great things in our family. He is proving Himself to be faithful in all circumstances and we are trusting Him! :)

Until next time, may I continue to seek first God's kingdom and will and may I fight harder and harder for the joy that is found in Christ Jesus!

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Samuel is 2 Years Old!

What in the world?! How is my little baby already 2 years old? Not only do I feel like I was just writing a post about Samuel turning a year old, but I honestly feel like it was only a few months ago that I was in the hospital giving birth to him (Well, I was in the hospital just a few months ago giving birth to Benjamin, but it really feels like time has flown!)

What a GIFT to us our little guy is! God did not have to give us a little boy that is so full of life, energy, joy, hugs, and kisses. He did not have to give us a little boy that would challenge us in the ways he does that bring us closer to Him. He is so gracious and kind to give us what we do not deserve and to bless us beyond our imaginations! 

Joshua and I think our guy is so cool. He brightens our days and makes us laugh. Like I said, he challenges us and in those challenges we draw near to each other and near to our God. Each day I'm reminded of the lovingkindness that God shows us and how I am to reflect that in my parenting of both Samuel and Benjamin. I'm so grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me perfectly, disciplines me perfectly, and leads me perfectly in my sanctification. This is the type of momma I want to be to our sons and I pray that in these past two years, I have grown to be more like Him.

Two years ago, a little person changed my life forever and I am forever grateful for the smiles, the tears, the laughter, the challenges, the joys, the precious little moments, and all that comes in between. 

Samuel guy, WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH and are thankful to God for giving you to us two years ago!

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Benjamin - 6 Months Old!

I can NOT believe it has already been a month since my last blog post. That is embarrassing. I've had such great intentions to post photos, stories, recipes, and thought-provoking articles :-P Oh well, good thing it's not my income-producing job. I'd be in big trouble! 

But one thing I do tend to remember is the monthly birthday of our little guy, Benjamin (and the BIG T-W-O coming up in a few days of our precious Samuel!!!) Each month that passes, we are more and more grateful for this wonderful blessing. Benjamin brings us so much joy with his sweet spirit and happy disposition. God has truly blessed us by giving us our little family of four. 

Benjamin is growing so fast! He is fully on solid-foods and eating like a champ! He still enjoys his nursings, but is eager to get in the big-boy food. He is such a snuggler and giggler. He makes us all laugh with his cuteness :) He's starting to experience life as the "little brother" as Samuel finds every opportunity to include him in his rough-play and also his loving kisses. Ahhh so blessed!

Here are a couple pictures I took and edited with Adobe Lightroom. I *heart* Presets!

Enjoy!

Until Sunday (Samuel's 2 Year Birthday!!), God bless!

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Benjamin - 5 Months Old!

Our sweet baby Benjamin is 5 months old today! Where in the world has time gone? They say that the days are long and the years are short, but I honestly feel like every day is too short to enjoy this bundle of awesomeness! No, really. I wish I could press the pause button on life with my two amazing little boys. They are both growing up way too fast!

Benjamin continues to impress us with his mild-manored ways. Of course, we do know that he is yet to become mobile and that changes everything in an instant. But we are thoroughly enjoying this stage of cuddles and giggles! It is so very precious to us!

With two teeth and a track-record of great eating, this little {big} guy is just about ready to start solid foods. I have introduced tastes to him {carrots, pears, cereal, etc.} but solids are not a regular part of his diet yet. I know he's going to LOVE eating more and more {like his big brother}!

Benjamin smiles all the time! Even when he may be having a hard day {TEETHING}, he can't help but smile when he gets a glimpse of his momma, abba, or brother! It is so tender & sweet!

We thank God for the blessing of Benjamin Henry and can't wait to see how he continues to grow!

Lovin' rice cereal!!

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Love is...

My last post was pretty pitiful. I felt like such a failure until the Lord encouraged me through a lovely friend that I need to show myself GRACE when it comes to this whole photo challenge. It is called a challenge, but I'm supposed to be having fun and creating memories! So this week was a lot less about the pressure of keeping up with the list and more about capturing great moments and trying to being creative :) 

Here, there are only three days from this week that I decided to include in this post.

"Love is..."

"Perfect"

and 

"In your hand"

Of course, I don't really believe that love is a McDonald's breakfast, chocolate donuts, a box of chocolates, and Roses. However, the man who I love more than any other human in the world decided to surprise me with these yummy treats on Valentine's Day. He really does know the secrets to my heart :) He went out before I even woke up and we enjoyed these yummy treats before the day started with the boys. I loved it!!!

And "perfect" was last night's YUMMY, YUMMY banana split that I shared with Joshua! We went out to a great dinner with my parents as they were in town, and then made a pit-stop at Graeter's.

Lastly, "In your hand." Nothing, in all honesty I'm learning, is really in my hands, but for the sake of a photo, I decided to hold my sweet Samuel's hand. Love it.

THIS is love. My precious gifts from God. {Photo credit: Paige Roach}

Had to throw this pic in. My parents came for a visit to Louisville and it was such a nice time. It was short, but sweet. They are getting ready to celebrate 30 years of marriage coming up in March! Love.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10

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Photo-a-day? What?

Sigh. 

I have failed at my attempt to take a Photo-a-Day. Or at least to post them. I have been pretty good {ok, maybe 75%} at taking the Photo-a-Day from the list that this website has made. However, I have miserably failed at editing and sharing the random photos I have captured. Instead of a fun challenge that gets me taking pictures with my DSLR {or sometimes my iPhone}, I feel enslaved to this list and then guilty/sad/annoyed/frustrated when I find another day pass that I haven't been faithful to this challenge. 

Grr. I strongly dislike this predicament that I'm in. I LOVE capturing every day moments, which I believe I do, especially with my iPhone. But, I don't like the list. My husband has encouraged me to keep going and not worry about the photos that I haven't taken. . .

So, I think I'm going to TRY and continue this challenge but with less pressure. I hate quitting when I've started something, so I'm not saying I'm quitting, but I'm not going to get bent-out-of-shape when I don't have my blog updated every Sunday with 7 different photos from the week. I'll probably post my favorite from the week and store the others in a file. 

Just had to put that out there. 

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