Number 5!

This year began a journey of becoming better and stronger. And I know that we are and will be. And so the celebration means so much more. It's a year that we will never forget. 

Our official anniversary picture/pose. You can see the others here and here. :)

Remembering

Today I am remembering this song that Stephen's friend, Nathan, sang in our wedding five years ago tomorrow. With all the variables that five years of marriage and life can bring, I can rest in knowing that Jesus is our one, true constant in it all. And that (and He) is worth banking your whole marriage, your whole self, your whole life on. This song means even more to me now than it did five years ago. And so do you, Stephen. Much, much more. Happy 5th Anniversary (tomorrow)! I love you!

Cleaning the pollen off the toys...

... turned into all of this!

And it was so.much.fun. James cried and cried when he had to come inside even though he told us over and over, each time that he ran through the sprinkler and slid into the pool, that "It's too cold!" I am excited about all the outdoor fun that we'll have now that the warm weather is here! :)

Baking, Crafting, and Creating!

James and I have been busy the last few days baking and creating! He is at a such a fun age and likes to "I help Mama" in the kitchen. This past weekend we made my Mimi's ginger snap cookies (which he loved) and a banana bread recipe that called for a yellow cake mix! Yum! I don't have any pictures because between keeping him on the counter, mixing, and measuring my hands were very occupied!

We also made a few bird feeders to hang on the trees. I stored away this idea in my mind for a few months, and with all the warm days that we've been having it seemed like a good time to try it. We had a lot of fun, and James even insisted that I take one "bird feeder off tree" after hanging it because he wanted a little snack for himself. Good thing I used only what was on hand which was all edible (for humans)! The verdict: the birds have not taken to them at all (I realize that sunflower seeds and birdseed are not the same but google said it was okay...ha!) but at least it was a protein-packed snack for my little guy that tends to eat like a bird himself. Here are a few pictures of our fun (although he started to cry every time I tried to take his picture. He is, for whatever reason, not enjoying the camera these days!):

We also took a trip to several craft stores this morning. James convinced us to get him a little wooden truck in the 1$ section that we brought home and painted before his nap. He loved it! And I was on the lookout for some things to do some crafting of my own, because Stephen and I will celebrate our fifth anniversary on Saturday! Between Valentine's Day and our anniversary about a month later, we have made quite a few cards and presents for each other through the years. And on the years that we don't have time to make anything (i.e., when we had a one month old baby or we were in the middle of mid-terms) we usually opt to buy something practical (maybe not romantic but who we are). We were talking about some of our best and worst gifts this morning: For our first anniversary, I made him a collage with pictures and important things from our wedding (napkin, newspaper announcement, program, etc.) and he made me a wooden tray that he painted and stenciled on a passage of scripture. That was a good year! And then the worst, I am ashamed to say, was when I gave him a children's typing game (that may or may not be called Spongebob Teaches Typing) for our anniversary. (But in my defense, he asked for it so that he could learn to type faster to keep up with his professor in class...but I know, it's still aw-ful!) We got a big laugh out of that one! I had completely forgotten about that one...I wonder why!?!

So to redeem myself, I have been searching pinterest.com for the perfect idea and have found a few that I am thinking of kind of merging together into one (at least some of the details from each). 

http://pinterest.com/pin/143763413075055751/

http://pinterest.com/pin/143763413075051913/

http://pinterest.com/pin/143763413075051863/

Lots to do before Saturday, but surely, however this turns out, it cannot be worse than Spongebob Teaches Typing. I am thankful that he loves me regardless! 

Favorite Phrases (of the moment)!

James constantly makes me laugh. Every day he is coming up with something new, and it is still amazing to me that this little boy that was just brand new two years ago now has the capacity to say such funny things. I also realize that I'm his Mama and I probably find it to be way cuter, funnier, more brilliant, and (insert other appropriate adjectives) than anyone else. I am aware that I am bordering on becoming that Mom. I do. But for memory's sake, I want to write it all down still. (Even if you are secretly accusing me of being one of those moms that always talks about her kid! ha!)

Just a few of his cute/funny things he's always saying at the moment:

- "What's thaaaaaaaat, Mama?" He asks that about just about everything now - the bug, the speck of dirt on the floor, the blemish on my face, the man trying to discretely make an exit for the bathroom in church...you get the picture.

- "No, wait!" When I tell him that I'm leaving the room for a minute, and he wants to come too.

- "Come Ont (on)!" I guess we've used this one with him a lot. This morning I asked him where he'd like to lay down to have his diaper changed and he grabbed a handful of toys and said so matter of factly, "bed, blanket room, come ont!"and ran down the hall.

- "I need you, Mama" if he's scared or unsure. This one's just sweet.

- "Hiiiiiii Daaaaddy!" so loud and excitedly. Its also very cute.

- "Careful Baby!" Little imitator! And I will try to get my need to say "careful baby" under control by the time he's playing high school football but I can't make any promises. :)

- He imitates me looking for things. He'll say "is it under the bed? Nooooo. Is it under the pillow? Noooooo." Then after looking several places he'll say, "I can't find it anywhere."

- When we ask him a question he will often begin with "welllll" or "hmmmmm" or "ummmmm" before answering. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree(s).

- Because he was delayed in taking to solid foods because of his reflux and in the beginning he choked a lot, with certain foods I always remind him to "chew it really good." When he eats fruit snacks, he'll look at me and say "chew it really good." And the other day when I was eating fruit snacks, he looked at me and told me to "chew it really good!" :)

- Because he is two years old, the answer to a lot of questions is "unh-unh." He is also quick to tell us "Unh-unh, I don't like it celery" (or whatever the thing is that he doesn't want/like of the moment). It is often frustrating in the moment but frustratingly cute at times as well.

- "I want 'bis' (this) one." And sometimes when he is being very persistent, he will point and say over and over "bis one. bis one. bis one!"

- It really made me laugh that he would always say "I want to go to Dr. (his pediatrician's name) more" when we asked him if he wanted to go to the dentist (see post below). Just one of those things that he says that makes me ask "where does he come up with this stuff?"

- After coming out of a public bathroom, he announced very loudly that "Mama goes pee-pee." Slightly embarrassing...but I'm sure it won't be the last time.

- When his cousin Jonathan (age 3) was visiting, Jonathan told his Mom he wanted to eat a "big bar  like James." (He remembered that James likes to eats cereal bars.) I then asked James what he wanted to eat and he said "a bigger bar!"

- After church last night, he told us several times that "Jesus comes back!" and looked around like he was looking for Him as he was telling us.


I know that James is a normal, little two year old boy but he's my typical little two year old. And so every little word and funny story out of his lips is so precious to me. And I don't want to forget these things (and I know I could never remember it all)! The amazing thing about being a Mama is that you never forget where their life first started in the midst of watching them change and transform right before you. In each new stage, I still catch a glimpse of that brand new baby that was first placed on my chest and it makes this parenting journey all the more amazing. There's just something about remembering the very beginning while you watch, from a front row seat, where they are headed. There's no denying that this little life just tugs at my heart strings like nothing else.

Thanks for letting me share. Thanks (again) for letting me be one of those moms.

The "Tooth Doctor"

We took James to the dentist for the first time this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised by how well he did. There are so many different opinions about when the first visit should take place, but I knew I wanted to wait until I felt like he would understand a little of what was going on before we went and I'm so glad that we did. And at the same time, because he had pretty severe reflux for the first 18 months of his life, I knew it was important to make sure that everything was okay and that the acid hadn't damaged his teeth too badly.

We had really been talking it up for about a week now about going to see the doctor for his teeth, and we told him that after the "tooth doctor" brushed his teeth he would get a special sticker or prize (we were banking on that!) But every time I asked him if he wanted to go to the tooth doctor, he said "I want to go to Dr. (the name of his pediatrician) more." Ha! So, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect when we got there. Knowing his personality and being a little unsure of new things, I expected him to get upset but he sat on my lap and let the hygienist clean his teeth with her special blueberry toothpaste without any tears. He really enjoyed the water that she squirted in his mouth and kept asking for "more water!" He even showed her how he could brush them all by himself too (after all, he is two years old!) He only got upset when the dentist came in and started putting gloves on, but luckily he just did a quick look before sending us on our way. The dentist said everything was great, and so that was a big relief for this Mama! And after it was all over he got to pick out a special prize - a big yellow bouncy ball (he told us it was like Pluto's! There is a Mickey episode called "Pluto's Bouncy Ball" - this boy knows his Mickey!) All in all, the "Tooth Doctor" was a success. :)

So much like Sarah.

I spent some time in Genesis this week, and the story of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18 particularly resonated with me as I identified so much with Sarah's unbelief.

^"10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

   Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

 ¹³ Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

 ¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

   But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

After overhearing for herself that she would be blessed with a child in old age, Sarah doubted still that it was possible. And even though Sarah surely knew that nothing was impossible or too hard for God, she found herself caught up in doubt and focused on what probably felt like unsurmountable circumstances rather than in resting in His promises to her. Of course, He knew that she would react this way. In fact, He knew everything about her. After all, He was the one who created her. And He was familiar with all of her struggles and doubts, in the very same way that He is with ours. I identify (and empathize) with her even in the moment (and definitely not her finest moment) when she actually denies that she laughed, because I see myself (and find myself) in that moment over and over again in my life. It was bad enough that even after hearing His voice she is still filled with unbelief but, then, she tells her Creator and the very one that will bless her with this child, that she didn't laugh (didn't doubt His promise to her) as if she could somehow convince Him otherwise. And then He reminds her, "Yes, you did." And that statement seems to be so much more than just the obvious and at the heart of it all I think He's saying, "Sarah, don't you know who I am?" 

The circumstances may be different, but so often I find myself in Sarah's shoes. I know His promises and I believe His promises with all my heart, but I am often overcome with doubt when I let myself get fixated on what seem like impossible circumstances. I believe that "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37) and then in moments of weakness I think "except maybe this..." or that maybe He has forgotten me or that He doesn't hear me. I allow my problems to feel so big that I can push Him out and make Him seem small, distant, and not fully capable or able. In the same way, I also "laugh" in unbelief like Sarah. I know all too well that seasick feeling of my doubting and tossing about that's described in James 1:6:⁶ "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

So often I feel so much like Sarah and so many others that have filled the pages of Scripture; real-life people with varying circumstances but similar struggles; people that, in spite of themselves, God still allowed to be used by Him to accomplish His good purposes. And that fills me with hope. All the stories of people recorded in Scripture who have gone before us, every chronology that was jotted down, every human failure that is forever remembered in the transcribing of His Word all serve to illuminate our desperate need for a Savior. Jesus came and died and lived among the flawed and fallen because God knew that Jesus was our only way to Him, by trusting our whole lives to Him in faith. And I so long to trust Him not just as Savior but moment-by-moment, regardless of circumstances, and to live out a trust in Him that is steadfast and unwavering. And to take Him at His Word. 

I love the richness of this old, familiar hymn:

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”


Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!


It is the simply understood and so worthy cry of my heart!

Wow!

Angie Smith is a really gifted writer and I always enjoy reading her posts but this one particularly spoke to my heart and so I wanted to share. Hope you are encouraged too!