April 19, 2012

A few weeks ago we made a quick trip to Tuscaloosa to close on our house. A day we had been praying for since we moved to Troy in July of 2008. The past four years have been quite a lesson in long suffering and dependance on God. We knew all along that He knew the exact date the house would sell. I wrote this post a couple of years ago and it's awesome to see it to completion nearly four years later. We are so thankful that this burden has finally been lifted and we can say with confidence that we are better for Him because of it. It's a hurdle in our lives that I don't want to ever forget. We have been able to see His hand so clearly in each aspect of the house  From providing for us when we had two house payments all the way to the date we sold it. Isn't that the greatest thing He can give us this side of heaven? To see his hand tangibly in our lives, working things out that only work out if He shows up. Nothing in of ourselves could have made it happen.

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.

What a testimony this house has been that He is our rock of ages. We are to cling to him in not only when we seem to need him the most but also when we are up on the mountain top and things are going well.  That's what I hope to carry into this next  season...complete dependance on Him.  He is beyond worthy of our praises and surrender. 

Easter egg hunt

The Saturday before Easter our church had an egg hunt. Luke loved the puppet show before and then was a mad man hunting eggs. Afterwards, he discovered they each had chocolate in them. It's a good thing he didn't know that while he was hunting for eggs or he would have wanted to eat the chocolate each time he picked one up. Alex was especially excited about the day and pretty much had a wide open mouth smile the whole time. It was a fun morning.

7 Months

From what I can remember, at 7 months Alex finally started eating baby food and then decided he really liked it. So much so, that he is trying to take himself off formula. He also started army crawling...fast! If you think that his ability to get anywhere in my house and my break in blogging are related than you are correct! The "break" time while Luke was sleeping is now filled with Alex but how sweet it is to have one on one with number 2. He's still our little smiles-a-lot and such a fun baby!

IPhone Photo Dump

Can I just brag on my big guy for a minute? When he gets his haircut he sits perfectly still. The ladies at the shop always rave about how sweet and still he is. It's really amazing considering he's pretty much wide open outside of this.



He is also quite the little artist. The Easter bunny brought him some new bath crayons. They are awesome and he loves them. However, they take some elbow grease to come off. It's worth the fun though.



We have really been enjoying the weather lately and the boys love to be outside at Daddy's baseball games. Luke enjoys playing in the sand or with his buddy Trent.













Friday we headed to Ozark and Luke took his nap in the car. This is some good sleep right here.



And here are some other random shots.

Six Months

Half of a year, wow! Time is flying! Alex continues to bring us so much joy. I really can't imagine a happier little guy. It's funny to me that we can already tell so much about his personality. He is very gentle and tender hearted. He seems to easily get his feelings hurt and there are times when only momma will do. Both of these things are very opposite of Luke. It is fascinating to me that two children from the same parents can be so different but both be created so perfectly in His image. Alex just goes with the flow. Even when I think I've pushed him to his limits he's such a trooper. He loves people and attention.
He has adjusted to 4 bottle feedings a day, 3 baby food meals and two naps. He's sleeping great at night from 7-7. He will pretty much only sleep in his crib or in the car.
He still isn't sitting up. Not even trying, not even a tripod. If we try to get him to sit up he just arches his back. He is, however, trying to crawl. He gets on his tummy and rocks as fast as he can. Sometimes he'll get everything off the ground except his chest and rock so hard that he face plants into the ground.
Sweet, sweet, sweet and just happy to be here, that's our Alex!

Stats: 16 lbs 13 oz. (20th percentile)
28 1/4 inches (95th percentile)

my firstborn

Dear Luke,

I'm overwhelmed as I think about you and what you mean to me.  You have the most gentle heart but still manage to be all boy.  My two favorite parts of the day are when you wake up and when I get to put you to sleep at night ;)  Even though you wear me slap out, I dread when I have to leave you.  I miss you when you are gone and when you are asleep.  You throw lots of tantrums but don't we all?  Mine just seem to manifest themselves differently.  You are fearless to your very core and extremely silly. You mirror my control issues to me but also remind me of God's grace.  I am unable to put into words how much I love you, my firstborn. 

Your favorite food:
milk, chicken, strawberries, cheese and waffles

Your favorite activities:
baseball, anything to do with water or being outside, watching Little Einsteins, snuggling

Your favorite phrases:
"Whatcha doin Mommy?"
"I do it"
"I need (fill in the blank)"  We seem to have 'need' and 'want' confused.  Today at wal-mart it was, "Mommy, I need chocolate."
"I dub (love) you" be still my soul
and daddy's favorite "I'll be right back"

You LOVE to sing and some of your favorites are:
Jesus loves me
Jesus loves the little children
The wheels on the bus
The itsy bitsy spider
Twinkle twinkle little star (although you think it's "Tickle, Tickle" and you sing it as you tickle our feet)


You can count to eleven, sing your ABC's, and take just about anything apart and put it back together.

my two little love bugs

pure sweetness

just chillin, eating a cereal bar and drinking some milk

taking a picture, "cheese, baby"

first time to eat and not gag on cereal..he did however gag on the spoon that was shoved down his throat a few times :)

Water Table and Sharing with Baby

Since the weather has been so summer-ish we have spent many days outside...Luke's favorite place to be.  On this particular day he was playing in his water table, which he loves.  Being the thoughtful little guy that he is he decided that he'd better share his toys with Alex as he exclaimed, "Mommy, baby has no toys!"  As you can see he is dumping them all in the bouncey seat with Alex.  I ran in and got my camera and started snapping away to remember this sweet moment.  It took me looking down at the last picture on the camera to notice Alex was shoving the fishing pole down his throat...poor second child.  I still laugh out loud when I look at that picture.  Bless his heart!  I also am curious when Luke will stop calling Alex "baby."

Brittany Pugh 5K and Shep Sprint

On March 6, 2011 the Lord gave me the great privilege of sitting in Sunday morning worship beside my good friend Brittany. It would be her last time to worship from the pew. The next day the Lord would take her into his presence so that she may worship him in perfection and complete salvation. What an incredible day that must have been for her and her sweet little boy Shep. 

Although her and Shep are basking in the presence of their Creator, their friends and family left behind miss them terribly. On March 10th the Troy Junior Women's League hosted a 5K, 1 mile run and 50 yd dash in their memory. Luke ran in the 50 yd dash (Shep Sprint) and my blessing of a friend Laura Allyson and I did the 5K (my first since pre-Alex).  It was a great event and Brittany would have been so proud!  We miss you Britt and Shep!

so proud!

love this girl, what a blessing!

Luke's first medal

He loves "LA"

They also had a bounce house that he LOVED!!

so much fun!

Sweetness

Luke painted his baby a picture

Luke demanded Alex snuggle with him and sent me to the couch

Stinky feet

Luke's favorite game since he was 9 months old

love them!!!

Location:So much fun