Little Swimmer

Today Buddy enjoyed the pool so much more. He started kicking and splashing, and cooing. I think this is so much fun! I see lots of pool time in our future.

Bloggingversary

On May 12th I hit one year of blogging. It has been a fun way to keep in touch with people and share a little of our lives. If you read my blog, thanks for reading. I enjoy reading many of your blogs too.

My first post was to tell everyone that we were having a boy. So much has changed in this past year. I am glad I could share it with you.

Bubbles!

Slumdog Millionaire

Have you seen this movie? I just saw it for the first time a few nights ago. I knew basically what the movie was about before I watched it.

But the story did pull at my heart strings as I thought about all of the orphan children in the world with no one to look out for them, to care for them, to protect them, to love them. I think being a mom now made me have even more empathy for little children being used, treated harshly, and doing whatever it takes to survive.

This movie not all sad. It has lots of funny parts, a great storyline, a love story and a happy ending. But it also has a message about poverty and of children in need.

This morning I read this Proverb that I had never noticed before. "He who gives to the poor will never want, But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses." Proverbs 28:27.

It is so easy sometimes to shut my eyes to the poor around me and to the needs of the poor around the world.

That is why I need to watch movies like this, to read the mission magazines, to be around those in need and not just "shut my eyes" because it is to hard to see and because it seems hopeless.

I am so prone to forget about those less fortunate. Probably because I am focused on myself and our needs. But any "needs" my family has are nothing compared to what much of the world experiences every day.

God has a special place in his heart for the orphan, the widow, and the poor. It is all over the Bible. He wants the church to care for them and also to point them to Jesus so they can be released from spiritual poverty to richness in Christ. I want God's heart.

Fun in the Sun

This was Buddy's first trip to the pool. I have been excited about taking him but my husband told me the water would still be cold. He was right. But Buddy did get a little pool time in his float and then had a lot of fun sitting there and watching all the big kids play while I enjoyed being outside. We are going with a friend to her pool tomorrow so maybe I can get some pictures of us together in the water.

Buddy watching the kids play in the pool.

He liked being in this warm towel after being in the cold water!

See my race car float?

Chillin' by the pool. (I think he looks like such a big boy in this picture.)

Oh yeah I am pretty cool.

Let's come again soon!

Giggles

I love to hear babies laugh. This video is about 3 or 4 weeks old but I saw it today and thought I would post it. Don't worry (Mom) I was real careful to make sure I didn't hurt him. :) I hope everyone has a good Memorial Day.

Let Me Hold You Longer

Have you ever seen this book? Man it is a tear jerker. My mom got it for me at a conference she went to where Karen Kingsbury was one of the speakers.

The basic idea of the book is a mom who is looking back on the time when her children were babies all the way until they go to college. She says in the introduction how we celebrate the "firsts" of all of our children but many times the "lasts" come without a thought because we never really know when something is going to be a last. The last time we comfort in the middle of the night, the last time we wipe a tear, the last time they run for us to pick them up, the last time you help with homework, the last time you read that book you have read 1000 times, etc.

As a mom of a very young child when I read this book to my son it is a good reminder. Right now his time at home seems like a long time. He has a lot of "firsts" ahead of him. But they will fly by. This is good to remember in the times when motherhood seems hard or a burden. The moments raising our children are a great responsibility but also a treasure. They last only for a little while.

Blowing Rock

Our Weekend Getaway and family wedding!

Stephen looking out through the window of our bathroom. This is what it looked like outside our room.

A picture my parents sent on the cell phone while we were gone. They were with Buddy at the Falls Park. He was in good hands!

Stephen and I at the rehearsal dinner.

Old Church in Blowing Rock

Exploring the town.

It looked like something in a book.

Outside of some of the shops in Blowing Rock .

Azalea Garden Inn - We walked around in here one night. It was so pretty.

We had a great weekend in Blowing Rock, NC. I had never been to this little tourist town before but I was pleasantly surprised on how beautiful it was. Walking around the town feels like you are in a little fairy tale. I have been to a lot of little towns in Europe but I really have to say that they have really created an atmosphere in Blowing Rock that can rival a lot of the old European towns for it's "quaintness". Every building has so many little details that make it special. Everything is beautifully landscaped. The churches have these little gardens with gates that make you feel like you are in a book. On every corner there is another bed and breakfast run by local people. And the whole town is full of little specialty shops and restaurants.

We checked in to the Homestead Inn on Friday afternoon. We liked it it. It was very clean and cozy. Then we spent several hours walking around the town. One of our favorite places was this stone church the the gardens in the back. That evening we drove to Boone for Stephen's cousin's rehearsal dinner. We got a little lost getting there. :) But once we got there we had a very nice dinner. When we got back to the room it was cold so we turned on the fireplace and let it warm and then walked around the town some more and ended up walking through the gardens at the Azalea-Inn. They were so beautiful. We got some things in a shop and walked through the great park that they have in the center of town.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast and then while Stephen stayed to read in the room for awhile I explored some more. They were having an "Art in the Park" festival that day so I went from booth to booth looking at the art. I went down every street and went in lots of shops. Finally I went in a coffee shop and got a cup of coffee and found a bench outside to sit and read awhile. Then when I got back to the room we got ready for the wedding. We ate lunch in Boone and then we to the wedding at First Baptist Church, Boone. Boone is a great city too. I had never been there.

The wedding was very nice but most importantly Christ-centered. The reception was at a hotel in Blowing Rock. The food was great.

We left and spend the evening hanging out in Blowing Rock and just being together for hours. It was great.

The next morning after another long night's sleep (yes!) we headed to Carowinds. I haven't been to an amusement park since college. I think it has been at lest 8 years since I have been to one. One reason is because I don't like waiting in heat in long lines. Well we didn't have that problem because it was cloudy and it looked like it could rain any minute. We debated whether we should even go or not. But we decided we were already here (driving through Charlotte on the way home) and the weather might make the lines short.

We were right. We walked onto almost every ride. We went on one roller coaster after another. The only down side to this is that your stomach needs a little break after an hour or so! The rain held off until the last hour we were there and by that time we had riden almost everything because there were no lines. We tried to do a few inside things but finally we were ready to warm up and ready to go home and see our son. We missed him!

What the Homestead Inn looked like on the inside.

Weekend Away

This weekend was our weekend away to Blowing Rock, NC. Stephen's cousin was getting married near there this weekend so we just thought we would go and make a little vacation out of it. We also went to Carowinds on the way home. :) I will update later with pictures and some more details.

I am so thankful to my parents for taking such good care of Buddy. He had a blast with them! And I am thankful for being able to spend so much time with my husband, to rest, and spend time with the Lord. We had a great trip.

My Best Birth

Ricki Lake just launched a new site for women to connect, discuss, get information, and share about choices in child birth.

If you are pregnant or plan on being pregnant in the near future you may want to check it out!

www.mybestbirth.com

Death is Not Dying

I saw this link: http://deathisnotdying.com/ on the Girltalk website today. This is the description of the video of Rachel:

Rachel's story is not unlike what thousands of women around the world have experienced. A diagnosis that changes a woman's life and inevitably takes from her what we consider to be most precious.
After four and a half years of vigilantly fighting breast cancer, the 37 year old wife and mother of two was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
But for Rachel the essence of life is found in her relationship with God through Jesus. And that's why Rachel is convinced that death is not dying.

This was a very powerful testimony. I encourage you to watch it but you may need a tissue!

Pictures

These are the proofs from "The Picture People". So each of the pictures has a symbol on top of it. But you should be able to basically see what they looked like.

Babies are so fun at this age.

My Mother's Day Present

UPDATE

This is what I got for my first mother's day. This was a great gift that I will enjoy for years to come. :)

I hope all of you had a great Mother's Day. We enjoyed the day with Stephen's family for lunch and my family for dinner. How blessed are to have great families and mothers!

Update: I realized the link wasn't working. I got some great pictures taken of Buddy for mother's day. It was the first time I have had professional pictures taken. Maybe I can post some of them.

Love it

All Smiles

I love this sweet baby so much. This is pretty much what he does most of the day. What a joy! He's 7 months old today.

4th Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 4th Wedding Anniversary. (I stole this idea from my friend Kelly's post yesterday.)

Our invitation

Last Summer on a vacation/anniversary trip to Seabrook Island. I was 5 months pregnant.


And here we are with 3 week old Buddy. I realized in doing this that we need an updated family picture! :)

We are spending the weekend in Blowing Rock, NC later this month to celebrate.

I am so thankful for 4 years with my husband. I can honestly say I have more respect for him, his character, and walk with the Lord everyday. And I love him more than when I married him.

He is a great husband and father and I look forward to many more years together.

Sleep

Buddy is a pretty good sleeper. He generally goes to bed around 7:30pm-8:00pm and wakes up between 7-7:30am.

But about twice a week he will wake up in the middle of the night for some reason. Sometimes twice. All I do is go into his room, put his pacifier in, and pat him. Then he goes back to sleep.

But usually it takes me awhile to go back to sleep. So those nights I will only get a few hours.

But I guess I have learned that once you miss sleep one night it is hard to catch up. For the next few days days I will get 7 or 8 hours of sleep and I still wake up exhausted.

Although once I am up and going and have my coffee I am fine until the afternoon when I get sleepy.

But then I don't want to take a nap when he naps because it is the only time to get things done.

And I know I totally have it easy. I was talking to my friend Joy last night who has a little girl and one on the way and she works full time. Also I know some people still have their baby waking up and wanting to eat at 7 months.

But I think maybe just 7 months of having interrupted nights and not ever sleeping late has caught up with me. I know... I know... "Welcome to motherhood".

My point of realization came last night. Around 6pm I was tired and drank a cup of coffee. I drank a full cup and fell asleep last night with no problem. I have never done this. Before I had Buddy I couldn't drink a cup after 2pm and sleep well. :)

And I keep forgetting things. My mom says it's like I have brain damage. I totally forgot to bring a dish to a family function after I talked about it with my mom twice.

Oh well it is worth it to have my sweet boy. And I need to try and get into bed earlier. I just enjoy my free evenings and being with my husband. But in a few weeks we are going away for the weekend without the baby and my main goal that Saturday morning is to sleep as late as I can!

Fast Changes

Babies are changing all the time. Stephen (Buddy) will be 7 months old in a few days. Recently:

1. He has started to make all kinds of new sounds.....yayayaya....bababababa....dadadada....etc.

2. Started going up on his knees and pushing himself backwards

3. His hair is thicker and thicker.

4. Started kicking most of the water out of the tub at bath time. Thankfully his is still in a baby tub so this water is just going into the big tub and not onto the floor.

5. When you play certain songs and hold him he kicks his legs to the beat of the music. My parent's were having a lot of fun with this new development on Saturday.

6. He can really play with toys now and can entertain himself for hours.

7. He is still loving his food. He takes a bite then opens his mouth again for the next one. My skinny baby is actually getting some chub on him. He finally has rolls on his thighs! I love it.

8. No teeth yet but has been drooling buckets for months. I can't keep anything dry. If I don't stay on top of it (and even if I do sometimes) he gets a rash on his chest. I have to change his bibs and clothes several times a day.

These are just a few of his new developments at 7 months!