Stop Noah Stop!!!

My precious Noah is growing up so fast, literally. He has decided that a five month old should be crawling already, or attempting to. I am not ready to have him every where, but I guess that I don't get to decide! He is such a sweet boy and a joy to be around. I love watching him and Karis interact, he really loves his sister. I also am enjoying that he is now on an eating schedule pretty close to ours, only four bottles a day with two baby food meals. He loves to laugh, roll over both ways, grab anything and everything in his path, and smile. What a blessing he is to us! Here are a few recent pictures of our almost 6 month old!

I just thought this was cute, him sticking out his tongue.

"Stop Noah, Stop!" I am not ready for this!!

What a sweet smile and how much more precious to know that he is smiling at me! Being a mom is so much fun and such an incredible blessing.

Sweet retreat!

This weekend, I had the special privilege of meeting my best friend, Michelle, in Williamsburg, Virginia for some girl time and shopping. Michelle's birthday was Saturday, and we were both blessed to have someone watching our children so we could have our girls weekend, which this will probably be our last one for a long time since they are moving back to Texas in a few weeks. Last year, Michelle and I spent a whole day seeing the historical sights of Williamsburg, so this year we decided to forgo the sights and just shop. We were both very successful in finding some things that we needed and getting a few things for the kids for next year. My favorite steal that I got was a pair of jeans for Karis from the Children's Place for $4.45.
We spent a lot of time talking about what God has taught us these last few months. What a joy and blessing to see how much has grown both of us since we first met at Sam Houston State University over 10 years ago! We will both celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary this year.
I was also blessed by my wonderful husband this weekend. He did a fantastic job keeping the kids while I was gone. He was so joyful and loved spending time with them by himself. Thanks Justin for serving me in this way, a few days away always brings a new and refreshed perspective.
Thank you Lord for a serving husband and Michelle. Thank you for renewing my spirit and giving me new patience and joy to raise my children. Thank you for reminding me that our time is short and to preach the gospel to myself and my family everyday.

The Word

I read Mark 2 yesterday during my time with the Lord, and I was floored by verse 2, "And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them." My first thought was WOW! Jesus is preaching about Himself. In John 1:1-3, 12, John tells us that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Can you imagine listening to Jesus preach the Word to them. He was standing there preaching the gospel, Himself, to them. How in the world could the disciples and the people listening to him understand all that He was proclaiming. Oh, how joyous it will be to stand and listen to our Savior one day just like the people did when Jesus was alive on the earth.
I long for the day to see my Savior, the Word, face to face.

Mother's Day Surprise!

I was very surprised on Thursday to receive a double jogging stroller from the UPS man. I asked my husband for one a few months ago, and wow, was I excited. Karis and I put it together that night. On Friday morning, I loaded the kids in the stroller and set off for my first jog. When I started jogging, the front swivel wheel started shaking terribly. I knew something was wrong. To make a long story short, we had to get a few new parts for the stroller. What a wonderful surprise. Karis really likes it because she gets to sit by Noah, and he really enjoys pulling her hair!



What a blessing it is to have a husband that helps me do something that I enjoy, exercise. Thank you Justin for the jogging stroller.

On Sunday morning, Jonathan Brooks, an elder and associate pastor, did a tribute to mothers during our second Scripture reading. He made a comparison between mothers and pastors. He said,"Mothers cannot take the credit when their children get saved or produce fruit in their lives, that only belongs to God, but mothers get blamed for everything bad that happens." I thought that his quote was exactly right. I will never be able to take credit for my child's salvation or sanctification because it is an act of God alone. Thankfully, I do get to teach Karis and Noah the gospel everyday by living, speaking, and learning more of it everyday myself. What a privilege to teach them of their greatest need, Jesus, our Precious Savior. I really had to look into my own heart and see if I was cherishing Him like He really deserves. Oh that I would never take lightly the sacrifice of our Loving Savior. His grace is the only reason I can be the mother I need to be to point my children to Christ. How desperate I am for Him!

This and That

My two little ones have grown up so much in the past few weeks. Noah is now rolling over from his back to his tummy, he has been rolling the other way for a long time now. He is awake a lot more and is really enjoying playing with his sister, more like watching her play, sitting and listening to us read books, and jumping in his johnny jumper. He is also starting to wean his way off a bottle, which is nice. He is adjusting well to the cereal and I will start some veggies and fruit tomorrow. I am enjoying our days as we play, cook, clean, and laugh. Karis is also growing up and being such a helper. I have a hard time cooking dinner these days without my faithful assistant. We baked homemade honey wheat bread this week, and she had the best time. Here are a few pictures of our last few weeks.

Karis is helping me make dinner.

I am trying to get Karis to have free playtime in her room by herself. She was very quiet the other day when I was cleaning. This is what I found when I walked by her room. She was building a castle, who knew it was going to take every toy and book she owned to make it right. She had a blast, and we had fun cleaning it up. I am thankful that she is usually a very good helper when it is time to clean up.

Here's another: Can you guess who?

I am going to leave this one up for comments. We will see who can tell which is Noah and which is Karis! Try to guess before looking at the date on the picture!! Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dad, you are another year old today. God has given us another year with you. I am so blessed to have you as my dad, and my children are so blessed to have such a loving Papa John. Thank you for being constant throughout my life. Thank you for always listening and offering your wisdom. I pray you have a very special day. WE LOVE YOU and wish we could be there to celebrate your birthday!

Papa John with all his girls!

Papa John with his first grandson.

Karis sang you happy birthday this morning, sorry she didn't want to sing it on the phone! She said, "I love my Papa John, he is 20 years old today!"

My Big, Brave Boy

I took Noah for his 4 month appointment this morning. He is actually 5 months in just eight days, so I really call this his five month appointment. He weighs 15 lbs. 10 ounces and is 26 inches long. He has gained two pounds and grown three inches in the last two months. Wow, what a growing boy. My pediatrician said he is off the charts on both weight and height, which means is good. I am going to start feeding him cereal tomorrow.
(Just a little inside joke for those of you who don't know how unprepared I was for motherhood the first time. When Laura and I were talking about giving Karis cereal, I asked her if she meant Cheerios! She laughed at me and thought I was joking, but I really wasn't, I had no idea that they made baby cereal! So Laura I promise that even though Noah is a big boy, I will not be feeding him Cheerios just yet!)
I also found out that I have a very brave little boy. When he got his three shots today, he only cried for about half a second after the last one and then started laughing and cooing at me. Where did this child come from, he is nothing like his mom or sister when it comes to shots! I also found out that he has an ear infection in both ears. He had no symptoms and has been very happy the last few days. God is good, and I am thankful for well baby check up, especially when you find out that your baby isn't well at all!