*I don't feel as safe in my home this morning. Josh found a snake in the nursery first thing this morning! Of all places, why the nursery?? And last year our bedroom?? It was an itty-bitty snake, but it doesn't matter. I'm having visions of a snake slithering up in his crib while he's taking a nap.
*Nana knows best. Why is it that we drop off James at Nana's house for an hour while we go get coffee, and he comes home more satisfied than he's been in a while? I asked her what she did, and she told me how she mixed up his cereal, which was different than how I do it, and that he's probably just getting hungrier and less satisfied with what I'm giving him. It's not that I was starving him, but he just acted last night like we act after filling up with your favorite meal.
*It really struck me while reading my Beth Moore lesson that we women need to be much kinder to ourselves when dealing with our image and to look at ourselves in the mirror as God's. I don't feel like I'm too wrapped up in the way that I look, but I could still improve in the way I view myself. We blame men for creating these insecurities from too high standards, but we are our worst enemy in this matter. Do you ever notice that the more you know someone, you start to see past their looks and just see the person they are inside? You know those people who are externally beautiful, but are so into it that it kind of ruins it? That probably sounds a little harsh, but it works both ways. I know lots of people who aren't "Hollywood standards" beautiful, but they are such wonderful people on the inside, that you think they are just beautiful.
*I forgot to mention in my post about James at 5 months that he's really communicating more than ever. He's making loud squeals, trying to get our attention, and lights up when it works.
*I think James has already learned stalling tactics for bedtime. Last night, it was past his bedtime, and he started getting extra lovey-dovey. For several minutes straight, he was laying on my chest and would look at me and give me a kiss, then lay back down, then lift up and give me a kiss, then lay back down, over and over again. It was the sweetest thing he's ever done...and it worked!! I couldn't put him down until he stopped. :)
Tonight, Elizabeth and Bryon are going to watch James so Josh and I can go out to eat by ourselves. We are so excited to go out two nights in a row! My brother and sis-in-law are also coming into town for her bday and the Alabama game. Should be a fun weekend! I hope everyone has a great one!
My Life. My Boys.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
5 Months!!
My baby is 5 months old as of yesterday. Here is James this past week sitting up like a frog. He's getting better now, where he'll start to lean and catch himself, but he will eventually get excited and fall back everytime! Not much new since I posted last about him, except that he got his first cold last weekend and caught a stomach virus from me this weekend. I'm pretty sure I caught it from Mother's Day Out on Thursday, because it started in the middle of the night that night. I guess everyone's just trying to get used to everyone else's germs right now. Luckily, he hasn't been as sick as I was! When James weighed at the doctor last week, he weighed 18.2 lbs. I'm surprised at how little he has gained in the past two months, but I guess he has slowed down from getting more and more active. If I had a nickel for everytime someone said, "That boy is solid!", I'd be rich! He is so strong and sturdy, but is still sweet and cuddly. Everytime someone he knows picks him up, he wraps his arms around them and just hugs them for a while. Yesterday, I took James to the Seidel wedding shower, and he was perfect the entire 2 hours or so we were there. He was passed around half of the time to people he didn't know and just took it all in stride. I really love the Seidel family (they are pretty much family to us), and it was so great seeing most of them yesterday. The rest of this weekend has been spent getting over sicknesses and watching football. Apparently yesterday was an "awesome day" for college football, so that took up most of the day! Georgia and Alabama both won, so Josh and I were happy. This was meant to be a short and sweet blog, but I've mananged to ramble it into a long blog. I'll stop here! :)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Daniel Bible Study
I am doing a Beth Moore study on the book of Daniel right now that has changed my life in just the 3 weeks I've been doing it so far. It is awesome, and I highly suggest it to anyone, girls and guys (Josh is in it, too). Our preacher has said before that people will come up to him after a sermon and say, "I just really needed to hear that, when you talked about (such and such)." He said that a lot of times he never talked about that and that God was speaking to them through his sermon. Maybe what I'm getting from this is just what I needed to hear and is different from other people, but this has helped me tremendously in getting my focus back on God. I think we hear the words "focus on God" so much that the phrase gets washed out, but it's SO important. I'm realizing how Satan is so subtle in steering me off track, by using things such as computer and tv to waste my time. I have made some goals for myself, and I'm realizing already how hard it is sometimes to just stick to them, when it's just me who made the goals. Something popped into my head, and I wrote it down, which has helped a lot. "Be strong! Weak is not working for me. Satan is SUBTLE!" He's using something that's not evil in itself and seems so harmless to take away from me being a godly woman. Distraction. Do you ever feel like God is trying to tell you something...and trying...and trying...and finally you wake up and listen and are changed by it? That's how I feel about God telling me to be still. BE STILL. BE STILL!!! I fight back constantly, but when I allow myself to listen, I am so relieved, content, relaxed, among many other things. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone but me, but it's just been on my heart so much lately. Every morning, I try to fight off doing my Daniel study and spending time in prayer (because there are many other things I could do), but as soon (literally as soon) as I open the book, a peace comes over me and I can't get enough. Isn't that interesting? Doesn't that show you how awesome he is, that when my mind is where it should be, I can't get enough? This happens EVERY morning! You'd think I'd remember, but it's an everyday struggle. That's where it becomes so easy to go back to being distracted and rationalizing it by telling myself that I'm not doing any "bad" sins. Putting God first in my day (that is, right after breakfast and feeding James) is not just an isolated thing. God has blessed me so much already by showing me other areas of weakness, the strength and wisdom to start overcoming them, and I think most importantly, helping me know him better. I'm writing this partly so that it'll help me remember, but hopefully there are others out there who can relate and get some encouragement from hearing a fellow struggler.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Sorry, bad blogger update
It's so hard to start writing a new post when you haven't done it in a while! I'll just start with an update on James. The biggest thing is that a week ago today his first tooth popped through! The second one came out on Monday. He's been a little fussy, but not too bad. I love his toothless gummy-smile, but the little teeth are so cute!! He's also sitting up like a frog now, for little bits at a time. It's getting longer every week. I actually had him sit up in the bathtub yesterday! James' personality is getting cuter and cuter. He laughs so much now. Just the other day, I noticed that when Josh was saying funny sounding words to him, he just cracked up. He also dies laughing when I turn him upside down and kiss his chin. I'm so curious about what he's going to be like when he grows up. If I had to guess from what I notice now, here's what I would say...
*He's going to be happy-go-lucky. When he's not giving us big grins and laughs (and when he's not tired), he just has a permanent little smile with raised eyebrows.
*He's going to be a people person. He gets immediately sad if Josh or I leave the room and gets visibly ecstatic when we start walking over to pick him up. When we're with a group of people, he is very content being in someone's arms and studying everyone. He's always just taking it all in.
*He's going to be a mama's boy. OK, I just had to add this one in there! :) He does just melt my heart all of the time, because when someone is holding him and talking to me, he won't take his eyes off of me. He looks at me as if he were thinking, "I just love that woman!" and just studies my face constantly. I guess they're all like that at this point with their mamas, but I like to think it's because he's going to be a mama's boy!
*He's going to be affectionate. He loves to cuddle and be kissed.
*He's going to be calm. I'm not sure yet, but he seems like a calm person and laid-back most of the time.
*He's going to have a loud voice. He won't have gotten that from me (I get made fun by my family for my voice that stops a foot in front of me.), but he talks a lot and it's loud when he gets going.
*I don't know what this means, but he's sensitive to dirty diapers and loud, startling noises. He cries, not when kids cry, but when they scream and if I ever do something that makes a new, loud noise. He gets fidgety with dirty diapers, and we can tell he's happier when he gets a clean one on.
*He's going to love music. I'm trying and hoping to instill my love of music in him by dancing to music and singing all of the time. He lights up when we do this! If he starts getting antsy, he'll stop when I start singing and just take it all in with a smile.
I see him being a responsible, protective older brother, who is funny, sweet, and cares deeply about his family. I don't know where I get that from, it's just a hunch, or maybe a hope! :) I don't know what all of this really means, and I'll truly be happy with whatever he turns out to be! I just feel so blessed to have him. I pray all of the time that the one thing that he will be is a strong man of God with strong integrity and good character. I talked to my mom about that the other day and asked her how do you raise someone to have that. She said, "Day by day and lots of prayers!".
I have to also tell you a funny cooking story and how wonderful my sister is. I had a couple of things to cook for, so yesterday, I spent almost the entire day either grocery shopping or cooking. I was supposed to make a cake for lunch today with our Sunday morning class, so last night around 9:15, I very tiredly went into the kitchen to make this delicious but complicated chocolate cake. I think the reason I like to cook so much, is that I LOVE to eat, so I was thinking, "Hmmm, I'd love some of this chocolate cake tomorrow!". Stupid me, though, waited to do something complicating until it was late and I'd been cooking all day. Anyways, the recipe called for a cup of coffee. Instead of making a cup of coffee, I got my measuring cup and scooped out a CUP OF COFFEE GROUNDS and put it into the mix. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? I felt like something was wrong and couldn't figure it out until it just hit me. I was so upset that I actually cried because 1)I was tired and wasted time that I could have been spending with Josh, 2)I wasted money that I'd spent on it, and 3)I wasn't about to go to the store again at 10:00 at night, but didn't know what to do about the lunch. I called Elizabeth and asked her if she thought it would be okay, since this was her recipe. She laughed and said no. I cried more! Then, my wonderful sister called me back and said she was going to stay up and make a cake for me. Isn't she awesome?!! I just have to brag on her for a minute that I've never met anyone who enjoys taking care of other people and doing selfless deeds like this as much as her. You're the best, Elizabeth!!
*He's going to be happy-go-lucky. When he's not giving us big grins and laughs (and when he's not tired), he just has a permanent little smile with raised eyebrows.
*He's going to be a people person. He gets immediately sad if Josh or I leave the room and gets visibly ecstatic when we start walking over to pick him up. When we're with a group of people, he is very content being in someone's arms and studying everyone. He's always just taking it all in.
*He's going to be a mama's boy. OK, I just had to add this one in there! :) He does just melt my heart all of the time, because when someone is holding him and talking to me, he won't take his eyes off of me. He looks at me as if he were thinking, "I just love that woman!" and just studies my face constantly. I guess they're all like that at this point with their mamas, but I like to think it's because he's going to be a mama's boy!
*He's going to be affectionate. He loves to cuddle and be kissed.
*He's going to be calm. I'm not sure yet, but he seems like a calm person and laid-back most of the time.
*He's going to have a loud voice. He won't have gotten that from me (I get made fun by my family for my voice that stops a foot in front of me.), but he talks a lot and it's loud when he gets going.
*I don't know what this means, but he's sensitive to dirty diapers and loud, startling noises. He cries, not when kids cry, but when they scream and if I ever do something that makes a new, loud noise. He gets fidgety with dirty diapers, and we can tell he's happier when he gets a clean one on.
*He's going to love music. I'm trying and hoping to instill my love of music in him by dancing to music and singing all of the time. He lights up when we do this! If he starts getting antsy, he'll stop when I start singing and just take it all in with a smile.
I see him being a responsible, protective older brother, who is funny, sweet, and cares deeply about his family. I don't know where I get that from, it's just a hunch, or maybe a hope! :) I don't know what all of this really means, and I'll truly be happy with whatever he turns out to be! I just feel so blessed to have him. I pray all of the time that the one thing that he will be is a strong man of God with strong integrity and good character. I talked to my mom about that the other day and asked her how do you raise someone to have that. She said, "Day by day and lots of prayers!".
I have to also tell you a funny cooking story and how wonderful my sister is. I had a couple of things to cook for, so yesterday, I spent almost the entire day either grocery shopping or cooking. I was supposed to make a cake for lunch today with our Sunday morning class, so last night around 9:15, I very tiredly went into the kitchen to make this delicious but complicated chocolate cake. I think the reason I like to cook so much, is that I LOVE to eat, so I was thinking, "Hmmm, I'd love some of this chocolate cake tomorrow!". Stupid me, though, waited to do something complicating until it was late and I'd been cooking all day. Anyways, the recipe called for a cup of coffee. Instead of making a cup of coffee, I got my measuring cup and scooped out a CUP OF COFFEE GROUNDS and put it into the mix. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? I felt like something was wrong and couldn't figure it out until it just hit me. I was so upset that I actually cried because 1)I was tired and wasted time that I could have been spending with Josh, 2)I wasted money that I'd spent on it, and 3)I wasn't about to go to the store again at 10:00 at night, but didn't know what to do about the lunch. I called Elizabeth and asked her if she thought it would be okay, since this was her recipe. She laughed and said no. I cried more! Then, my wonderful sister called me back and said she was going to stay up and make a cake for me. Isn't she awesome?!! I just have to brag on her for a minute that I've never met anyone who enjoys taking care of other people and doing selfless deeds like this as much as her. You're the best, Elizabeth!!
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