Lana Lyman

2011 Review.....

2011-12-31T20:45:00.000-08:00

Another year has gone by. It is SO crazy how fast this year flew! I have BIG plans for New Year's Eve (tonight).....I'm in my pj's, kids are in bed asleep, hubby is running out the door for a massage (spoiled rotten) and I plan on watching "It's A Wonderful Life". December was so busy and by the time the kids were in bed most nights, I just didn't have the energy to stay up and watch it. I cannot let this year end without seeing it. (it's my favorite!) So, yeah, big plans. ugh. Life as a parent is so glam, right? HA.

Anyway, I digress. 2011 review. It was a great year in some ways, and not so great in others. I can honestly say that it was the toughest year of my life. For several reasons. Mainly trying to adjust to having two kids was the toughest part for me. Tom and I both still struggle with this at times. Seems so pathetic...I mean, lots of people have more than one kid, right? And they do it and make it look so easy sometimes. Why is it still so hard for us sometimes? Don't get me wrong...we LOVE our kids....it's just that parenting is by far the toughest job EVER! I guess the fact that Shae' is still waking up most nights doesn't help. I don't know why it seems so hard, I just know that it is and that I am totally exhausted the majority of the time. I hate that feeling. On the flip side of that, we have never known more joy that the joy our children bring us. Really. Isn't that amazing? How your kids can drive you nuts one minute and then melt your heart the next? That part I love! My kids are great. I love them madly and believe with all my heart 2012 will be a bit easier in this area. Here's hoping anyway! :)

Aren't they the cutest? :)

I guess for every negative, there really is a positive. Our family has faced some spiritual battles like we've never seen before this year. It's been hard. REALLY hard. But the positive is that we've learned (and are learning) to trust God more. Knowing that He really does hold our world in His hands and has it all under control is the best feeling. (I love that song, have you heard it? "You Hold My World" by Israel? It has brought me much comfort in the last few months) My favorite line: "I'm not afraid, my world is safe in Your hands".

So I guess, to keep from going into tons of details about the year, I can sum 2011 up by saying: I've learned a lot. I've grown as a person. I'm learning more patience (thanks Carter and Shae') and I'm learning to trust in God more than ever before. I've been blessed beyond measure this year and the good ALWAYS outweighs the bad. I've grown closer to some friends and farther apart from others, made new friends and had the privilege of seeing some friends whom I haven't seen for years. I've learned more about myself and am thankful that God is still working on me. I've laughed and I've cried, but looking back, I don't know that I would change much. Even if I would like to, I refuse to live in regret. Instead, I'll shift my focus toward 2012 and all that is in store. I'm believing for an amazing year!

"Let's watch the old year die, with a fond goodbye

and our hopes as high as a kite....."

Happy New Year! Thank you to all of my family and friends, close or even just 'FB close' (HA!) for making 2011 so wonderful! I pray blessings for you all in 2012! xoxo

Christmas Recap

2011-12-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas has come and gone. It's hard to believe we're already at the end of the year, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how fast time flies....each year seems to go faster than the one before.

We had a wonderful Christmas! This was our 3rd really FUN Christmas with Carter and Shae's 1st fun one. The kids got some wonderful gifts and we've been enjoying great quality time with family. We chose to go south to visit my family for Thanksgiving this year and stay home for the month of December. It's the first time since we've been married that we haven't visited my family for Christmas. So, it's been different, but we've enjoyed it. Tom's sister and her family have been visiting so we've been busy with them. Plus, we've enjoyed creating our own traditions as a family. What kind of traditions do you have? Anything unusual? I'm always looking for ideas since we are just getting going with our family. I want to start things now that we can continue throughout the kids growing up. A few things we do now are:

*Advent Calendar
We have a little people hanging advent calendar. If you've never seen it and have small kids, you really should check them out. You spend the month of December creating the manger scene and on Christmas morning get to put baby Jesus in the manger. It is SO darling! Carter looks forward to it each day in December.
*Elf on the Shelf
If you have never heard of this, you should check it out. It is such a cute idea. However, we do not do Santa at all, so instead of Elf on the Shelf, I bought a Zebra that has bendable arms/legs and we named him and call him our hide-and-seek Zebra. No magical powers, or visits to the North Pole....just a fun animal that we can play a game with at Christmas time. Every night we would hide him in different spots (just like Elf on the Shelf) and the first thing the kids wanted to do in the morning is look for him. Shae' especially got really good at finding him, often times before Carter even would.
*Joy Stocking
This is one of my favorites. We start right after Thanksgiving. I leave blank paper and pen on the kitchen counter and throughout the month of December, we write joy notes to each other and place them in a special stocking we have hanging on our fireplace. These notes start with....."you bring me joy when....." and can be filled in however. It's just our way of saying what we are thankful for in each other. On Christmas Eve, we read the notes aloud. This was our 3rd year of doing this. We actually were so busy Christmas Eve with family over, that we ended up reading them at the breakfast table Christmas morning and I really liked that too. I can't wait until the kids are old enough to write their own notes. It will be so fun to see what they come up with!
*Christmas Carols
Call me old fashioned, but I LOVE singing Christmas Carols! We do this on Christmas Eve before bedtime. We just gather around the piano and sing as many songs as possible before the kids lose interest. HA. Everything from Jingle Bells to Silent Night. It's a blast. I look forward to future Christmases when the kids can play an instrument and we can have our own little band while we sing :)
*The Christmas Story
The last, but certainly not least, thing I'll mention is our reading of the Christmas Story. A rule in our house is no presents are opened Christmas morning before we read the Christmas Story found in Luke 2. This year was really sweet because Carter was SO excited to read about baby Jesus.

These are just some of our traditions. I look forward to making many more as our family grows and the years pass. I want traditions that my children can pass on to their children.

I'll close with some pictures from our Christmas. I'm including some pics of my Christmas decor too. I LOVE to deck my house out with Christmas stuff. There's not many a corner in my home that goes untouched. :-)

The centerpiece in our living room, that's our joy stocking hanging :)

My living room tree, yes, not much green showing I know ;)

My cozy living room. LOVE this room. That's my new furniture that was part of my Christmas present :)

I love to display my Christmas cards....these are just randomly stuck in this decor piece in my kitchen....I get to look at them every morning while I make my coffee :)

Our family room. I love doing the bright colors..SO fun! This is where we open gifts :)

The stockings are hung with care :)

Shae' on Christmas Eve

Carter on Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning :)

Caught in the act ;-)

She thought it was funny :)

The best I could get of them together

All the kids went in together and got these throws for the grandparents. It has all the grandkids photos on it. (great-grandkids for Grandma Mim, pictured here) Grandma Mim said she laid it across her bed and every time she walks into her room, it's like all the great grandkids are there looking at her. How sweet! :)

Here's the grandparents with their throw. My MIL cried like a baby when she opened it. I would call that a successful Christmas present :) (I just realized that the bottom of the throws aren't showing in the pics...but I promise all the kids are pictured. The throws are huge)

I pray you all had a blessed Christmas as well! xoxo

Happy Birthday Shae'!!!

2011-10-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Shae' Shae'!!! I can't believe you are turning ONE tomorrow! Wow...this year has really flown by. I'm excited and sad all at the same time. Excited for all the new things you are learning and doing, but sad that you are growing so fast. :/ Please slow down, just a little please?

I can say without hesitation that you have made this last year very interesting for our family. You started out by coming into this world in the middle of the night (4:08a.m.) and you have kept us up at night ever since. You are definitely one tough kid to figure out. Even as your mommy, whose supposed to 'know' what you need/want at all times, I have been at a loss countless times. I think you are ready to change the world and just can't sleep due to all the plans running through that pretty head of yours. It's obvious you have big plans and can't wait to start implementing them......I mean that's clear from the fact that you are so 'busy'....from walking at 10 months (and practically running now!) to always being on the go and looking for something else to do.....I can't wait to see how you change your world!

You are such a sweetheart. I love how you are always eager to give love to your family and how you are quick to hug and kiss Carter when he's upset. You love your brother so much! You two will be best friends through life and I love watching the relationship between you grow.
It's so sweet to see you light up when you see Daddy for the first time at the end of a work day, or when I come into your room first thing in the morning. You smile with your eyes and it is so beautiful!

You have taught me so much in the last year. You have taught me patience that I didn't know I was capable of. You have taught me how to slow down and appreciate the simple things. I've learned that those hand prints on the coffee tables can wait a little longer to be wiped off (they're actually kinda cute)...that the nose prints on the windows can stay until tomorrow (after all, you'll just put more on there tomorrow when you're watching for daddy to come home) and that sleep isn't nearly as important as I once thought (well, it's important, but I can function on far less than I once thought! And besides, the sunrise sure is beautiful). You've caused me to say 'no' to others far more than I ever have....and you know, that's ok. I've learned that this is a 'season of life' that we are in.....we won't be as involved in other things as we once were.....not at this time anyway...and I'm ok with that. If I can teach you what's right, show you how to live and love and instill a love for God in your heart, then I will be more fulfilled than I've ever been doing anything else.

Thank you baby girl for teaching me all of this. You are going to do great things, I just know it. And you will keep our family very interesting in the process, I'm sure. You are beautiful inside and out and I can't imagine our family without you!

Happy Birthday Baby Shae'. Mommy loves you!

When you were just a few hours old

a few days old here....

3 months....

8 months....

last week at church....almost 1!

at the pumpkin patch with mommy....

your 1 year pictures

Decisions....

2011-10-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

I am in the midst of decision time and am desperately looking for some advice! Here goes......

We have had our dog, Schroeder for 7 years now. I love this dog. I begged Tom for over a year to get him for me and he was like a first child for us. He went everywhere with us, vacations, etc. and we spoiled him rotten. Fast forward a bit.....having kids in our lives now, Schroeder has definitely become more of a 'dog' to us. We still love him (well, I do anyway), but he is no longer the 'child' to us he once was. I mean, we are busy with two little ones now. And Tom is dying to get rid of him. Sad, I know. My husband has never been a dog lover and has only 'tolerated' the dog because of my love for him. Since Shae' has come along and we've had such a rough go with her, Schroeder has become more and more difficult to handle. He's not a bad dog, but he's just extra money and energy....and I'm running out of both! :/ We have had to spend quite a bit this last month on him too because of some issues he's had.

So, I'm actually considering finding another home for him. Now, after all of this, in my heart I just don't think I can do it, but I'm putting my feelers out there and keeping an open mind to the idea at least. I know it would make my husband happy and make for a little more peace in our home.....I just don't know if I can part with him after 7 years! It would be less stress in my life, but not sure if I can handle the guilt that would undoubtedly follow. If you are reading this and not a pet owner, you will not understand, but if you are a pet owner, I need to hear from you! Have you ever had to do anything like this? What was the experience like for you?

Again, I don't think I'm gonna be able to do it (sorry Tom if you're reading!) But I'm at least considering it which is more than I've ever done. I just want to hear some thoughts from my friends. Comment on the blog itself rather than FB if you don't mind :)

Going crazy.....

2011-08-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

My title is exactly what I've been up to lately. I must warn you before I go any further. This blog post is not for the faint of heart. Actually, I should just say it's for women only. Or better yet, mommy's only. Because only mommy's will understand and be able to offer advice based on experience.

So, as my title say's, it's been crazy around here. Not really in a good way. I'm learning with being a mommy, it will always be something. Especially being a SAHM and having two little ones. Just when you think you've got something figured out, your kids will throw you for a loop in another area. Take my last post for example. I was so proud of Shae' for FINALLY sleeping at night! Only to turn around right after I posted that and start waking up again. ugh. I ended up taking her to her doctor and practically begging him to find something wrong with her.....ear infection please? pathetic, I know. I was just so desperate to find the solution to her night waking. His comments: "she's perfectly healthy. I think it's mostly a personality issue." oh great. Is this really what I have to look forward to for the next 18+ years? His suggestion: wean her. He thinks it will help her sleep better at night. I had already been thinking this same thing. SO, that's what I've been working on for about 3 weeks now. We successfully switched to a cup (with goats milk) for her lunch and dinner feedings right away. That left a bedtime feeding and morning feeding. We've gone this entire week with no bedtime feeding (just a cup about an hour before bed, which she doesn't take much from). That just leaves the morning feeding, which will be the hardest to eliminate. See, she wakes about 5 or 5:30am every morning, nurses, then goes back to sleep til about 7:30-8am So I'm not sure how I'm going to stop that 5am nursing session yet. Suggestions anyone?

She did start sleeping better when I took out the lunch and dinner nursings. Mostly going from 8p.m.-5a.m., waking to nurse, then back to sleep til 8ish. However, this week has been rough. Since I've stopped the bedtime nursing, she has been waking again. Not sure if it's related, but I hate to backtrack at this point.

And in the midst of it all, we have started potty training Carter. Potty training one kid and weaning the other at the same time=INSANITY! Seriously, what was I thinking? Actually, Carter was the one who initiated the potty training. While his cousin was visiting a few weeks ago, he suddenly wanted to wear underwear one day. It happened to be the day we were going to be in the city all day. Fab, huh? I let him and thankfully he did not have any accidents. How could he when I took him to the potty every 20 minutes? HA! Well, since then, it's been touch and go. He absolutely will not poop in the potty. He pee's in the potty well, but still doesn't tell me when he has to. I take him frequently during the day. He still has accidents, but usually only one pee accident during the day, sometimes none. But he has a poop one everyday. ugh. The worst part is, he doesn't care if he is poopy or wet. He doesn't tell me. It's like it doesn't even bother him. I would LOVE some advice from my mommy friends on this! It's only been 1 week of hardcore potty training, but I'm already wanting to throw in the towel and stick him back in a diaper! I feel like I spend my entire day in the bathroom with him. And Shae' trying to crawl all over us doesn't help any. Oh Lord, I need strength! This week, I did go and buy prizes for him. He gets a small prize (candy or cookie) for peeing and I have large prizes (wrapped in paper bags) sitting on top of the toilet for going and pooping in the potty. He has yet to get a big prize, but he has tried several times to go poop because he is REALLY wanting to know what's in there!

So, this has been my life. Aren't you envious? HA! Not so glamourous, but it's my life! Here's a few pics from the last few weeks.....

Carter and Parker riding the train

Me with my baby girl

After the boys had jumped in a mud puddle and soaked their clothes....they had to ride home in their underwear! HA!

My princess is pretty in pink :)

If you've survived this post until the end, you must be strong at heart! Or better yet, you must be a mommy too ;)

FINALLY!

2011-07-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a big week around here. After months of getting hardly any sleep at night, Shae' has finally started to sleep better. I think the Lord knew I was at my breaking point, because it happened at a time when I literally thought I was going to lose it. Sleep deprivation is a nasty thing. My sweet girl is almost 9 months old and it has been such a blur to me thanks to lack of sleep. We were literally at the point of her waking every hour (every 2 if it was a good night). So I was basically sleeping in 45 minute increments throughout the night. This went on for about 2 solid months...EVERY night. Tom would help out some on the weekends, but she would scream like crazy when he would get up with her...she wanted Mama. Most times, I would end up with her anyway because he just couldn't calm her down. So, you can only imagine how exhausted I've been. Most days I would not get a nap during the day due to being too busy with the kids. And even the days I did get one, it just wasn't enough to make up for the lack of sleep at night. It was to the point that I felt sick all day from lack of sleep, nauseous, headaches, etc. I finally caved and decided to just let her cry. It was that or ship her off to Grandma's. One way or another, I had to get some sleep!

So this is how we did it: I started on Friday, with her first nap of the day. Instead of rocking her like we usually do, I just laid her in her bed and said nite nite. I then sat in the floor of her room with my back to her. She stood and started screaming...and screamed....and screamed. I tried staying in there and letting her see me, but not speaking to her, etc. But after 30 minutes of this (a very stressful 30 minutes) I realized that this method was not going to work with her. So I left the room. She cried for an hour total at that nap. I went in every 15 minutes or so and laid her down and patted her back. This is how she ended up falling asleep. Nap 2: I laid her down and left the room. She cried for 20 minutes. After 15 I went in a patted her back and this is how she fell asleep. Bedtime: I read her books and cuddled, then laid her in bed, patted her back while I sang to her softly, then left the room. She cried for 12 minutes and then laid down and went to sleep. I never went in that time. She woke up once a few hours later and cried for less than a minute and was back asleep. She slept the rest of the night. This pattern continued for several nights. Then on Monday night, she slept the entire night without waking at all. The last 2 nights she's woken up and I've actually ended up in there rocking her, but overall it's been a good week! We're not where my goal for her is yet (12 hours of continual sleep) but we are on the right track! She's done 8-9 hours continual sleep this week more than once. She is still not taking in very much solid food, mostly breastmilk still, so she can't go as long as I'd like because she gets hungry too soon. But I'm at least seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

So yes, most of my FB posts have related to this topic, and so have some of my blogs, and yes, you are probably tired of hearing about it all, but this has been my life lately. Everything else has been secondary to trying to get some SLEEP! My time with Carter has suffered, my diet and workouts have suffered, my ability to be the wife and mother I want to be has definitely suffered....but thankfully we're on the right track. I'm still not feeling 100% (one week is not going to make up for months of no sleep!) but I'm certainly feeling a thousand times better than I have in a long time.

sleeping in church

such a stinker!

The other breakthrough around here is that Shae' FINALLY started saying "Mama" yesterday! I can't believe it took her so long, but she's saying it now :) "Mama" was Carters first word at about 8 months old. Shae' was saying "Dada" by 6 months old. Go figure she'd put me through so much sleeplessness and not even say my name for so long. She is a stinker for sure! But she's my stinker and I love her to pieces. And somehow my love for her has grown since she's started sleeping better. HA!

catching up....

2011-07-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

Oh boy...where do I begin? I can't believe it's been so long since I posted, but then again I can. What have I been up to? Well...walking around in a fog sounds about accurate. Sweet baby Shae' has been going through a horrible phase of waking up all through the night. *sigh* It started months ago when she was ready for solids, but everytime we gave them to her it hurt her tummy too bad. Well, after taking her to a natural healing specialist, thank goodness that has gotten better. She's been eating rice cereal for over a week now along with other foods, and has had no tummy issues from it! This in itself has been an answer to many, many prayers. We're still trying to get the food thing figured out...she doesn't show a lot of interest in baby food, and there's not much table food she can have yet, so it's a slow going process....but at least it's going!

Teething has also been a recent issue. It has kept her up at night as well. It just feels like one thing after another around here. The last few nights I don't even know what the issue has been. I'm beginning to think she just hates me at night.....because she is a doll baby during the day. Happy, naps well, content.....but when bedtime comes that all goes out the window. There have been nights in the last few weeks where I have literally been up every hour with her.....this has led me to being pretty much delirious. I feel so sleep deprived I can't think straight during the day, I'm tired all the time, etc. etc. *insert violins here*

So....that has been the last 6 weeks or so for me it seems. Oh, we've had some good days, they are just followed by really bad nights.

On a positive note: this crazy girl has started crawling, pulling to her knees, standing on her feet and even walking along furniture a bit all in the last month. She's everywhere! I do not remember Carter being this active...and he certainly wasn't this young. She wants to walk so bad.....I really think she'll be doing it before I know it. Needless to say, as a result of her pulling up on everything now, we've had lots of bumps and bruises going on. She's one tough cookie, though and just keeps going :)

I better brag on Carter for a minute too :) My smart just-turned-3 year old is learning so rapidly I hardly feel I can keep up! He knows all of his letters, the sounds they make, can spell his name, write his name and can even read a few words. He's learning how to sound out the letters to make the words. I'm so amazed at how fast he's learning! And he LOVES letters! He is constantly reading off the letters he sees written in books, on vehicles, stickers, anywhere! I am going to start him in the ABC's of ACE program this fall. I know it's a kindergarden program and he's only preschool age, but I really think he's ready for it. We'll see anyway!

Ahhh....so that's my life in a nutshell! Now you see why I haven't posted much....although everyday has been something new around here, it comes out sounding more or less boring in a post :)

Carter's 3!!!

2011-05-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

I must confess to getting a little emotional last night when it came time to put Carter in bed. As I was reading to him I couldn't stop thinking that my sweet baby, my 1st baby, is now a big boy. :( *sniff* I know people say this all the time, but it REALLY does feel like yesterday that I was heading to the hospital to have him. Roughly 22 hours after checking in to the hospital, our sweet baby boy arrived! I can still feel that excitement! I love both of my babies, but there is definitely something special about the first born. That excitement and anticipation of being a first time parent, learning everything for the first time....it's all so special.

So...about my Carter....

He is the sweetest little boy I know. He is SO helpful, loves to clean up his toys, help mommy around the house, help daddy in the yard. He surprises me so often with what all he is capable of when it comes to working and cleaning. I'm so thankful he has inherited his daddy's servants heart. He is a giver, through and through. :) And loving.....he will give hugs and kisses to pretty much anyone. He loves to cuddle and won't go to sleep at night without a hug. When he sees his mommy, daddy or sister act like they are in pain, he wants to know where is their "boo boo"? When you show him, he will pray for you, then kiss it. Then he'll ask, "all better?"

He's the best big brother....always concerned about "baby Shae'". He gets upset when she has to take a nap because he wants her in the room with him. Every morning when he sees her for the first time, he smiles and gives her a big hug and kiss. I can't wait to see their relationship grow.

He's learning like crazy right now. He knows his alphabet, most of his shapes and colors and can count to 20. He can spell his name and quote several scriptures. He also knows COUNTLESS songs. I'm amazed by this. He will hear a song one time and a week later I'll hear him singing it out of the blue....and he'll know all the words. The kid amazes me with something new everyday.

I love you Carter. You have changed our lives forever. You are just what our family needed.

Below is a song I wrote for Carter when he was newborn. I sang it to him everyday for at least the first year. Now he can sing it with me and we sing it together to Shae' sometimes :)

"I love you Carter

I love you Carter

Yes, oh yes, oh yes I do

I love your little toes

And your button nose

I love you Carter

Yes, oh yes, oh yes I do

And when you grow up

When you're all grown up

I'll still be loving you"

Happy Birthday Carter!!!

His last night as a 2 year old :)

His birthday breakfast :)

My handsome little man :)

Happy Half Birthday Shae'!

2011-05-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

Seriously? I just can't BELIEVE it's been six months already! They have flown by (and been quite the blur). I have lived in a constant state of second-guessing myself, working on her sleep, her schedule, her tummy issues, you name it! HA. She is DEFINITELY female :) Very high maintenance.

My sweet girl weighed in at her six month checkup at 17.5 pounds, and is 27 inches long! She is in the 80% for weight and 90% for height. We like our babies big :) She is becoming very active now. She reaches for EVERYTHING...nothing is safe around her (which keeps us on our toes) She is rolling all over the place. Last night she started at one end of the living room and before I knew it she had rolled around the coffee table, across the room and over by the sofa. She's outgrown the swing now but is enjoying the jumper/bouncer. She is also sitting in the high chair now, which makes her look SO much more grown up :(

As for her eating....well...that's still an issue. This girl has one sensitive tummy :( Her doctor said all I can do is trial and error with foods. So far we've tried: prunes, rice cereal, oatmeal, applesauce, carrots, pears and avocado. The only thing that hasn't hurt her is the pears and avocado. Everything else has made her so gassy and fussy...to the point of waking at night screaming with a tummy ache. :( I'm working on finding more foods she can handle. But even the avocado and pears, it's slow going. It will take her 2 days to eat one small jar of pears. And she has more gas than normal with that even. Any other mommy's out there that have had baby's with a sensitive GI tract? I would love to hear what worked for you? Her doctor said she should outgrow it by her first birthday. Our issue is that she is not satisfied with the breast milk alone. Oh, she loves it, but she started waking at night and early from naps because it wasn't keeping her full long enough. Since she has become more active, she needs more calories. So, my push to find food she can have is so she'll get full enough and stay full long enough. And she's SUPER interested in everything we eat. I know she's ready, her tummy just isn't I guess.

Aside from her tummy, she's just a doll. She smiles at EVERYONE she sees...my little social butterfly :) And her eyes are so big and beautiful, her smile will melt you! (well, it does us anyway) I love how happy she is. And she adores her big brother. She will watch him for the longest and when he gets close, she's reaching for him and trying to give him kisses. It really is so sweet.

There isn't much more to say about her.....you'd just have to see her in person to really see her sweetness. If you ever do get to see her, she'll give you the biggest smile and I promise you'll fall in love instantly :)

We love you baby Shae'! Happy half-birthdy :)

On her 6 month bday :)

Smiling at daddy :)

The sweetest face EVER!

Catch Up, Obedience & Self Control....

2011-04-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Once again, almost 2 months has passed since I posted last. Ugh. So much for my intentions to post weekly.

So, in the last few months it's pretty much been life as usual. The kids are keeping me busy. Shae' is growing like everything. She'll be 6 months next week! I'll have a blog next week just for her and update you on all her progress. Carter is getting sweeter I do believe (is that even possible?!) He has gotten SO loving lately....lots of hugs for everyone. It's really sweet. I've been making myself slow down more as of late and take some special time with him each day. He is like a sponge these days....soaking up any and everything we can teach him. One of the things we've started with him is Scripture memorization. We started with Ephesians 6:1 "Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." He had it down overnight. It's written out for him and tacked to the wall by his bed. We recite it every night and every morning. He LOVES it! We've now added Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord" It's so precious to hear your child quoting Scripture :)

I must say, the last month or so has been a time for big changes around here. We've really been evaluating our parenting and reading some helpful books and ways to improve certain areas. We've adjusted some of what we were doing, and implemented new ideas as well. It's been amazing already the changes I'm seeing. Two of our main focuses at this time with Carter are: first time obedience & self control.

I'll start with first time obedience. This one is a stinker because it requires a lot of effort on the part of the parent. If first time obedience is expected, and the child knows that is the requirement, then EVERY time it is not carried out, there must be consequences. Well, as a parent, it's too easy sometimes to give a command, but not really follow through if it's not done right away. Example: "Carter, pick up your toys now". Carter then continues to play with them, ignoring my command. All too often I would then repeat myself several times, possibly even end up in the floor showing him what I want done and MAYBE even picking them up myself. NOT the idea here! Another big one for us is, "Carter, come to mommy". Well, when I say that, I expect him to come right away. If he does not, or if I have to repeat myself, it is not obedience. Anything less than FIRST TIME obedience is not true obedience. If I have to repeat myself in order for the command to be carried out, then it is not true obedience. One last thing on this subject: I must be careful as a parent not to give a command when I really don't care if it's carried out. I have to say what I mean and mean what I say.

Moving on to self control. Oh my...this one seeps into EVERY single aspect of all that we are doing with training our children. From the time they are mobile and start reaching out to touch off limit objects around the home, the self control training begins. Instructing a 6 or 7 month old to "not touch" is simply teaching them self control. I must say Carter was so easy with this part of self control training. He learned early what he could and couldn't touch. Even now, I don't have to worry about him around the house. He knows what is off limits and is good about leaving those things alone. I've never understood people who 'baby proof' their house. I believe in 'house proofing' your baby. When you remove all temptation from a child, you are missing the opportunity to train them in self control.
Self Control is even tied in with the first time obedience. It takes self control for a child to stop what he is doing to immediately come to the parent when called. This is something we are working on with Carter now. In an effort to try and make it fun, I've even started giving random commands when he doesn't expect them. Example: We are reading a book together and I may suddenly stop and say, "Carter, run a touch the door and come back to Mommy" This seems silly, but when he jumps up right away and runs to touch the door and come back, he just exercised self control and first time obedience. And I praise, praise, praise and he thinks it was the most fun thing ever. I could go on and on (but I won't!). You can think of many other examples I'm sure of how important self control is and how crucial it is our children learn it. Just remember this: The primary goal of Christian parenting is to teach our children self control.

So, on to the big changes I mentioned. I guess the changes are really not so obvious to the outsider, but a lot of them are mental for me. My mind has been spinning with this topic of self control, and I must say I have been so convicted lately with it all. Not only convicted because I felt like I was failing in some areas to teach this important character trait to my children, but convicted because I realized how many areas of my own life where it was lacking. How can I teach my child to exercise self control if I fail to exercise it myself? It seeps into the little areas of life we don't always think about. Self control in getting out of bed when don't feel like it, or eating what I should, or exercising my body like I should, reading my bible, prayer time, keeping my home clean, etc. etc. etc. A lot of these things comes down to managing my time wisely, which takes self control. I mean, can I really teach my son self control when I can't even exercise enough of it to say 'no' to those cookies in the pantry? I know, this sounds silly, but this is how my mind has been working lately. I'm working very hard to lose my pregnancy weight right now and the whole food/exercise thing is very close to the surface for me. And do you know the weeks I have the most success with my weight loss? Yep, the week when I exercise the most self control with my eating.
Okay, so maybe weight loss doesn't relate to you? How about this one (and I must admit, this one hurts even MORE than the weight loss one!): Self control in my SPENDING. How can I teach my children self control when I can't say 'no' to those darling shoes I passed by at the mall? I don't NEED those shoes, maybe I can't even afford those shoes, but I love them, so I buy them. It all comes down to a lack of self control.
So, you see what I mean about self control seeping into EVERY aspect of our lives pretty much. For me, it's been working on how I use my time, and avoiding giving into every urge and whim I may have (food/spending, etc.) (and believe me when I say it's a work in progress!) Self control is all about bringing this flesh under subjection. Fasting has been another great way for our family to work on this. We have devoted Thursdays as our fast/quiet days. Even the kids fast. It's not always from food, but we have dedicated this day to be our 'quiet day', meaning no computers, no music/radio, no dvd's. We simply spend the day reading together and playing quietly. Carter and I have devotions together on these days and even spend time in prayer together. We've just recently started this, but is has quickly become my favorite day of the week already!

Okay, I must stop now! See what happens when I go two months without posting? If you have made it all the way to the end of this blog, congratulations! I hope you aren't bored to tears and I hope that something I've posted has caused you to stop and think.

Happy Friday!

Happy 4 Months Shae'

2011-03-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

Once again I am amazed at how fast time goes. My baby girl turned 4 months old yesterday! (well...I guess it was yesterday...born on the 29th, 28 days in Feb....yeah...something like that) In some ways it feels like she was born yesterday, in other ways I feel like she's always been with us. Crazy how that works. A few things about my sweet girl.......

She is the sweetest thing. No, really. I know I complained enough in the beginning about her colic (or whatever it was) and not taking a bottle (she still won't) or pacifier (still doesn't) not sleeping well (thankfully, that's better), but she has become such a happy girl. She reminds me so much of Carter at this age. Everywhere we go she is stopping people with her smiles. All they have to do is look at her and she's smiling at them. It is so sweet. She does the same with us of course. Mommy is her favorite (if I was a baby, my food source would be MY favorite too), but she's really starting to notice Daddy more and lights up when she sees him for the first time of the day. And Carter? Oh my....it is going to be so sweet to watch them grow up together.....she LOVES him! When he enters the room, she takes notice and is usually grinning ear to ear while watching him. It is precious. And thankfully he is so good with her. It's really something to watch the love between them. :)

So, like I mentioned, she still has never taken a bottle. I kinda just gave up on that idea. I still wished she did as it would be so nice to leave her for longer periods of time occasionally, or be able to feed her in a restaurant, etc. But I've accepted it and am cherishing the time I have with her and the closeness we share. I am working on the sippy cup and it's going okay. I think in another few months she'll be able to drink from it. Here's hoping anyway.

Her sleep has gotten better. She takes 3 naps: morning and afternoon naps lasting about 2 hours each, late afternoon catnap of about 45 minutes. Her nighttime sleep is about 12 hours with a quick 10pm feeding stuck in there. That's the feeding I'm working to eliminate. She'll sleep 9-10 hours straight, though, after the late feeding. She's on a 4 hour routine now which makes my life SO much easier!

She is very content. She does not have to be entertained. After she eats, she's fine on the playmat, bouncer, wherever. I usually put her somewhere to play then leave the room for awhile. Sometimes I'll put her in whatever room I'm in cleaning or cooking and she'll lay in her bouncer while watching me. She is not one that has to be held all the time.

She's getting better in the car. Neither of my babies have ever been good carseat babies. People always talk about driving so their baby can fall asleep, etc. HA! My kids just scream in the car, so anywhere is less stressful than the car for us. But she's getting better. Starting to be more content and much, much less crying in the car. We're taking a 5 hour road trip at the end of the month....we'll see then how good she is in the car. (oh boy)

So lots of rambling, but I figured I did enough complaining in the beginning that I needed to brag on her for a bit. I love my sweet Shae' Shae' so much. She has brought so much joy to our little family already. And while I'm looking forward to the future and all the fun we'll have together, I'm enjoying the here and now and all the joy she is bringing to each day.

Mommy loves you Shae'

It's not "okay?"!!!

2011-02-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

   February is almost gone and I haven't blogged all month! Time seems to get away so fast sometimes. :/
  It's been a month of celebration for us around here.....starting with our wedding anniversary, followed by my birthday (I turned 30! YIKES!) then Valentine's Day. It's been a great month! Tom and I have enjoyed 3 date nights in the last month, which have been SO wonderful! And we had such a sweet Valentine's Day as a family at home. Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE my little family?! Well...just in case I haven't, I DO! :)

  Hmmm...as far as the kiddos are concerned, it's been pretty low key. Shae' is growing like crazy, almost 4 months! HOW did that happen SO fast?! :/ She is smiling ALL the time now, laughing out loud (SO sweet!) and rolled over for the first time last weekend. Here's a few pictures of her from the last few weeks.....

Pretty in purple

Sweet little bunny :)

I had to throw in a pic of my silly boy! Love this kid!!!

So now that I've rambled about my family, now onto my title.......

"Words count. They are critically important in the formation and organization of concepts that communicate thoughts, especially during this rapidly expanding period of vocabulary formation. Speaking wrong words to a toddler, even with the best motives, can still send the wrong message."

  This was taken from the GFI "The Toddlerhood Transition" book. I have been once again reading through this book to see what areas of improvement I need to make with Carter. I came across this chapter, "Sending Right and Wrong Messages" and was once again reminded of the importance of this subject.
  It has always bothered me to hear a parent give their child a command and follow it with, "okay?" I mean, really...THINK about this! If you are giving a COMMAND to your child, why follow with, "okay?" This is sending a mixed message to the child. You are basically asking for permission while giving instructions. It may sound like this, "Let's put the toy's away, okay?" or "Don't touch anything in the store, okay?" Do we really need to add "okay?" to the end of our instructions? No...because you do not need to ask your child's permission. "Okay?" or "All right?" at the end of an instruction sends the wrong message. What you're trying to say "do you understand me?" So why not just say that phrase instead? Asking 'okay' only undermines your authority and redefines the meaning of obedience in the mind of the child.
Another excerpt says, "Giving instructions to your child disguised as an option when no option is available is another misleading form of instruction." Example: it's naptime. But instead of saying, You're going to take a nap", you give your child an option you don't really mean to give and say "do you want to take a nap?" What if the child says "NO". I mean, really...what toddler is going to say "yes" to taking a nap? Too often we send the wrong message by giving options to our children when we don't intend on letting them choose. There are times when giving and option is appropriate but not when true obedience is called for. If you want your child to take a nap, or come to the dinner table or pick up his toys, then offering options will only cause conflict, not avoid it!

  This, to me, is such a hard habit to break! I still occasionally catch myself or Tom saying, "Okay?" at the end of an instruction to Carter. We've gotten better in the last 6 months or so (since reading this) at saying, "do you understand?" instead.

  Next time you're giving your child instruction, think about how you are phrasing it. Are you sending mixed messages to your child? Remember to 'say what you mean and mean what you say'! Just stop and ask yourself, "is this really what I want to say"?

I Do

2011-02-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

February 1st, 2003. I woke with butterfly's in my stomach. The man that I had known for only a short year was about to become my husband. And I was about to move halfway across the country to start my new life with him! Crazy? No.....I knew from the first time we met that he would be 'the one'. It was all so whirlwind really. Here's our story.....

January 2002....

I was a senior at Jackson College of Ministries in Jackson, Ms. Born and raised in northern Mississippi my entire life, JCM was the reasonable choice. It was close to home, just a 3 hour drive. I was part of a singing group at JCM....actually I was the piano player at this time. We were off for a weekend of singing at various locations. First stop: Conroe, Tx. Lake Conroe Youth Convention had just been started by Michael Ensey. I believe this was their first year, or maybe second. Anyway, we were there to sing. It was a Friday night and the place was packed! I sat about halfway back with my friends and when altar call started the altars filled up fast. Not even sure why (because I had sworn off guys forever!) but a guy walking along the wall toward the altar caught my attention. I mean, I had sworn off guys, but that doesn't mean I couldn't take a peek at the attractive ones, right? And, oh boy! He WAS attractive! ;) After service I was walking through the hallway with the drummer for our group (who Tom later told me he thought I was dating..HA!) and we passed each other. Those eyes! AHHHH!!! I was smitten with just a glance! The following morning there was another service. We actually both ended up at the water table at the same time (ok, so maybe ONE of us staged that...but it wasn't me!) and exchanged glances. Yep..those eyes again! Then we had another service that evening where our group sang for the second time. In this service, I made sure to sit in a row that gave me a view of him all through service (yeah...by this time I was not concerned with spiritual things!) HA. During service, Michael Ensey announced Tom as his brother in law and mentioned he was from Seattle. Seattle? That's on the other side of the world isn't it? Strike one against him. After service, we were loading up to leave. Tom was standing with a friend of his talking to some of my friends. I thought, perfect opportunity, right? So I joined the group. When I did, HE walked away. UGH! Disappointed, I headed to the van a few minutes later. As I was walking through the parking lot, guess who was standing there? Yep. He looked at me and I about melted right there. Those EYES! And then something even better....he smiled. The world pretty much stopped then and there. He walked up to me and these were his words: "I knew if I didn't talk to you now, I'd regret it for the rest of my life." (ok..by this time my heart HAD stopped and I WAS a puddle on the ground) We went on to chat for about 5 minutes....finding out just a few things about each other. He gave me his business card, I gave him my phone number. We said goodbye.

As I got into the van, ALL of my friends were teasing me calling me "Lana Lyman" and planning my wedding. I was brushing it off saying, "I don't know anything about him...he's probably an axe murderer or something". The weekend went on and he was ALL I could think about.

On Monday afternoon, I was in my dorm room telling my room mate about him when the phone rings. It was HIM. We talked for over an hour that first time. And he continued to call everyday after. We learned so much about each other from our long conversations. One thing I learned quickly was that he was not a preacher. This was hard at first for me. You see, when you go to bible college, especially when you're a music major, it's kind of a given you will marry a preacher. And I had really thought I would. All my life I had thought that. So, as much as I liked him, and as 'right' as it all felt, this one thing really held me up at first. I'll never forget the advice of one of my instructors, though...he was like a father to my during my JCM days. He said this: Lana, he doesn't have to be a 'preacher' to have a ministry. Wow! I had never thought of it like that. I prayed a LOT about it all and just felt this peace about it. My instructor was so right too. I have seen Tom work in areas such as College and Career, Youth (for 5 years!), maintenance, ushering, etc. And even when he hasn't held a 'title' or 'position' I've seen him faithfully support the church in tithe and offerings, bless others who didn't have and support me in my music ministry for nearly 8 years. He is a faithful man of God for whom I am so grateful to have in my life!

Ok..back to the story. In March of 2002, Tom came to Jackson for the music conference held there. Since he knows nothing about music, he was obviously there to see me! :) He also was able to meet my parents at this time and ask my Dad permission to officially 'court' me. We spent about 4 days together and that was our first time to really be around each other. We both knew when that week was over we were in love.
We continued our phone calls daily. He came down again in May to attend my graduation and we had another 2 or 3 days together. 2 weeks later I flew to Seattle to visit him for a week. That was a hard trip because I went knowing I could end up living there and not liking it at first. I met his parents and family for the first time and got to attend his church and meet his friends. I went back to Mississippi unsure of the future.

I failed to mention that right before I met Tom, I had accepted a Music Minister position at a church in Natchez, MS. Right after I graduated from JCM, actually the week I got back from visiting Seattle, I moved to Natchez to be full time. And I LOVED Natchez. So, now you see where all the hesitation came from. Neither of us knew what God had in store for us. We just both prayed about it. I finally started feeling peace about moving to Seattle if that's where God wanted me. About 3 weeks after my Seattle trip, my cousin was getting married in Memphis. I was in the wedding. I drove up and guess who was there to surprise me? Yep...Tom had flown in without my knowing. We had a wonderful weekend and he was able to meet more of my family. Then, on that Saturday night, we took a carriage ride through downtown Memphis. He got down on one knee (in the carriage!) and proposed. Of course, I said YES! My gift was a bible with my married name printed on it. I still carry that Bible. Wonderful memories.

The rest of that year was filled with planning (it took about 2 months to choose a date because my Mom was SO upset about the engagement! She loved Tom, but not the idea of me moving so far away) Tom came down again in September and we spent a week with my parents planning, etc. Then my parents and I flew to Seattle for Thanksgiving. They wanted to see where I would be living, check out the church, etc. We had a great time. Then Tom flew down 1 week before the wedding. We had a crazy week of last minute stuff to do for the wedding (he helped my dad cut down 72 cedar trees for the 'winter wonderland' decor for the sanctuary---yes 72 TREES!--and he STILL married me! HA!)

So there you have it. Our story. We married, honeymooned in Gatlinburg, TN. and then he brought me to Washington. Quite the adjustment from Mississippi. It took me about 2 years to finally say that I loved it here. Now you couldn't get me to move anywhere else.

It really has been a great 8 years. I know a lot of people say that, but for me I mean it. We've had hard times, but they've been so few and far between. And nothing that has made me doubt my decision for a minute. Our meeting was such a God-thing. And now 8 years later we have 2 beautiful children added to our family. It just keeps getting better! We've gone from this.........

To this.......

Happy Anniversary Tom!!! I love you and I love our life 'together'. :)

Survivor!

2011-01-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

I finally did it. I FINALLY, after 3 months, took both kids out alone. Pathetic, I know, that I've waited for so long....but with Shae's fussiness/colic/whatever it was the first few months, followed by sickness for 2 weeks, etc. etc. I just have not been brave enough to do it. And to be honest, I probably wouldn't have yesterday either, but a dear friend is 4 days overdue with her 2nd baby and I thought it'd be fun to meet up and walk the mall. After her baby comes, it may be awhile before SHE'S brave enough to head out, so I loved the idea of getting together. I tried sending Carter to G'ma's house so I would just have the baby, but G'ma was busy yesterday so off I went with both kids. And they did AMAZING! No, really, they did! I was only 10 minutes late leaving the house and the car ride there was peaceful. Both kids were loaded into the double stroller and off we went! We even had lunch at Nordstrom Cafe {the BEST if you haven't been} and the kids were great! Carter sat in his chair and ate, then played right by our table and Shae' sat in my lap and attracted the attention of everyone who passed by. {I'm convinced she will be my crowd stopper. She's beautiful and smiles at everyone..quite the combo!} We then walked, walked, walked...for nearly 3 hours we walked and talked and it was wonderful! At one point, I did have to hold Shae' because she was sleepy and fighting it...so my friend had to push my massive stroller for me, but other than that, I'd say it was a perfect outing! Even the car ride home was wonderful...both kids fell asleep and I got to listen to talk radio in peace as I drove. :) I do credit my success to a few key things:

1. Comfortable Clothes
   I knew I would be dealing with the kids and didn't want to be uncomfortable (too hot, etc) with what I was wearing.

2. Comfortable Shoes
   I knew we'd be walking a lot. I would normally wear boots, but knew my feet, legs, back would be hurting something awful by the time we left if I did. So I chose my Coach sneakers and didn't have one bit of pain...I could've kept going a few more hours!

3. Patience, patience, patience!!!
   I made up my mind before I left that even if the kids were out of control I was going to keep my cool. Too often when they get worked up, I do too. Knowing that it was very possible that would happen while we were out, I just decided that I would be prepared for it and deal with it as it came. Thankfully, I didn't have to this time around...but my mindset made the day better for all of us anyway.

So there ya have it.....my story of survival. HA! {pathetic what 'stay at home mom's' consider an adventure, huh?} Now, I'm not planning to go out daily just because yesterday was a success. I know I'll have a day all too soon where the baby screams nonstop and Carter acts like a typical 2 year old. And let's face it: it's just EASIER to be at home when you have small children...especially when you're exclusively breastfeeding one of them. But at least I've gotten over the initial fear...and with spring/summer just around the corner, I'm now looking forward to {instead of dreading} the fun outings to come!

And finally, here's a couple of pictures of my sweeties :) These were taken last weekend when we went out on our 'family date'...which was also a HUGE success! The kids were fabulous! I think we're finally getting the hang of two kids.

My sweet boy

Daddy with his princess

LOVE my babies! (and her face cracks me up! HA!)

Can you say "gorgeous"? LOVE that smile :)

Goodbye

2011-01-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." Ecclesiastes 9:10-11

We don't know when our time will come. It's as simple as that. For some, it seems it comes too soon. "Goodbye" has to be the saddest word in the dictionary. Tonight, we had Tom's parents over for dinner. As they left and were saying their goodbye's, Carter stood at the door crying because "goodbye" is not easy. At 2 years old, he doesn't understand how quickly tomorrow will be here and he will see them again. And I guess at 29 I don't understand how quickly 'tomorrow' will come and we'll see our dear Sis. Kern again. I must not, because when the news came today of her passing I wept. Well, cried really. Hard actually. You see, 'goodbye' never gets any easier. Even when we know it's not really 'goodbye', but more like, 'see you soon..save me a seat!' The one bit of comfort comes in knowing that her suffering is over. I'm sure she's already lining everyone out in Heaven and making sure they're all busy! haha That's just Sis. Kern :)

This song has been on my mind this week and I've played it often.....

On that day when I see all that You have for me

When I see You face to face

There surrounded by Your grace

All my fears swept away in the light of Your embrace

Where Your love is all I need

And forever I am free

Where the streets are made of gold

In Your presence healed and whole

Let the songs of Heaven rise to You Alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain, no suffering

You hold me now, You hold me now

No darkness, no sick or lame, no hiding

You hold me now, You hold me now

I'm so glad she is free from pain, in her new body. We weep, but her days of weeping are over! She received her ultimate healing. And we know we'll see her again....one day.

Like the old song says...."I've got more to go to Heaven for than I had yesterday"

We love you Sis. Kern. You will be greatly missed.

The Kern's with Shae' the day she was born.

We'll treasure this picture always!

One More Valley

2011-01-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

It started this morning around 2:30a.m. I laid in bed wide awake, unable to sleep. And for the first time in a long time, it wasn't because of Shae'. She lay in her bed next to mine sleeping soundly. No...I could not get my dear Pastor's wife, Sis. Kern, out of my mind. I know my blogging is usually about my kiddos, and that's what I started it for, but this is such a sad time for all of us around here. Sis. Kern has been my Pastor's wife for 8 years now, and she's battled cancer for nearly 6 of those years. We've all watched her go through it, bear the weight of it, fight it, nearly lose the fight with it only to rebound and keep on going. It's been amazing to watch her strength. I know she's suffered, but she's kept so much of it to herself. It's been really hard the last month or so seeing her in the final stages of the cancer and unable to hide the suffering any longer.

This post will be short. I just wanted to share my burden and ask that anyone reading this, if you would please keep Sis. Kern in your prayers. Pray she has peace and as little pain as possible. And even more so, please keep Bro. Kern in prayer. I know this is a very difficult time for him...their children as well.

As I lay there thinking and praying for them all this morning, I kept seeing images of Pastor and Sis. Kern singing. The church would light up every time they would bless us with a song. Sis. Kern would get on the organ and they would start singing some of the old songs we don't get to hear very often. Their favorite, and ours too, was "One More Valley". The words are:

When I'm tossed on life's sea and the waves cover me,
And the clouds won't allow the sunshine through,
Then a voice seems to say, "Child, there'll be brighter day,
Don't allow the clouds to hide sweet Heaven's view."

'Cause you've got one more valley, one more hill,
Maybe one more trial, one more tear.
One more curve in life's road, maybe one more mile to go,
You can lay down your heavy load when you get home.

Don't let Satan see your fears, learn to smile thru all your tears
Hold your head up high and give the world a smile.
Just be faithful all the way, it'll be worth it all some day,
'Cause it's all gonna be over after while.

These words have never seemed more appropriate or meant as much as they do now.

I love you Sis. Kern.

Rough Day

2011-01-04T21:48:00.000-08:00

There's nothing profound in this post. It's been a rough day! Carter isn't feeling well and Shae' has been fussy since last evening. I've tried desperately the last 2 days to get a nap but although Carter has napped well, Shae' has chosen the last 2 afternoons to fuss at the only time I could be sleeping. This has made for a very tired mommy :( I did manage to get her settled this afternoon and laid down on the bed with her on my chest. It was wonderful! I think I started drooling instantly. HA! But right as I got into a good sleep, Carter was crying and coughing really hard. I ran to his room to see if he was throwing up and he wanted to be held. I still had Shae' in my arms (who was now awake and crying too). I sat in the floor of his room holding both kids as all 3 of us cried. What a day! I've been chanting, "This too shall pass" under my breath all evening.

BUT, in the midst of all of it I was able to snag these pics today.

Made it all worth it :)

Vice or Virtue?

2011-01-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

Resolutions. We make them every year. We break them every year. Then we start the next year making them again. I write down my goals at the end/beginning of each year. Some goals make my list every year. You know the ones most of us have: lose weight, get in shape, pray more, fast more, etc. etc. etc....

This year, a lot of my goals are family and parenting oriented. I'll confess something now and get it over with: My biggest fear in life is being a bad parent. It's been my fear since LONG before I had kids. So in order to try and prevent that I am constantly checking and re-checking myself and my parenting methods. Especially now that I have a toddler and everyday is some new challenge against my parenting skills.

One of my resolutions this year is to speak and think more positively. About any and everything. I have a tendency to think the worst too often and at times that comes out in my speech as well. So I am striving toward a more positive disposition.

Well, in reading my GFI toddler book this last week {in order to work on my parenting!} I came across some amazing stuff! I've read it before...several times actually...but it has been awhile and, quite frankly, I had forgotten it. It talks about how as parents of toddlers, we spend as much time restraining wrong behavior as we do encouraging right behavior. And while words of restraint are necessary during the training process, what type of words are we using? Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace to the hearer." The book goes on to say this:

'The word 'corrupt' carries the meaning to 'decay' or 'cause injury' or 'pain'. How often do your words injure? When communicating with your children, attempt to use positive words as often as possible. Even in times of correction you can speak from the 'negative side of the virtue' rather than the 'negative side of the vice'. Most 'wrong' behavior is broken into the vice or virtue category. The vice category is negative, the virtue is positive. If a child does something wrong, parents tend to describe the negative side of the behavior.'

How often have I been guilty of this? How often do I hear other parents describing the negative? Too often, that's for sure. Some examples would be: instead of telling a child, "hitting is mean", why not, "Hitting is unkind"? 'Mean' represents the negative side of the vice, 'unkind' represents the negative side of the virtue. Or how about instead of, "Are you lying?" say, "Are you telling the complete truth?" How about this one: instead of, "You're acting selfish" try, "You're not thinking of others." Using the negative side of the virtue is far better than using the negative side of the vice. Some vice/virtue comparisons are:

VICE VIRTUE

Neglectful Attentive

Haste Patience

Rough Gentle

Disobedience Obedience

Messiness Orderliness

Rude Gracious

Jealousy Contentment

Meanness Kindness

Careless Responsible

Prideful Humble

Impulsive Self-Control

Selfish Other-centered

Violent Peaceful

So...this is definitely part of my resolutions list for 2011 and beyond. I want my children to imitate and reflect back to me and to others the virtues they hear coming from my lips. I am writing Ephesians 4:29 along with the Vice/Virtue comparisons on a sheet of paper and plan on taping it to my mirror. This is something I need to be reminded of daily. It's also something I will have to pray about daily because speaking the virtue does not come naturally for me.

How about for you? Vice or Virtue?

Here are 2 reasons I am striving to be a better person! :-)

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T21:08:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve!!! Hard to believe, but it's here! We are in Mississippi with my family spending this holiday. I'm loving the relaxing and time with my family, even if a part of me is missing being in my own home with my little family enjoying our own traditions.

One of my favorite Christmas songs (although I'm not sure it was intended as a Christmas Song) is "Count My Blessings". What a great song for anytime of the year! The songs says:

When I'm worried and I can't sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds
If you're worried and you can't sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

And now, here are a few pictures of MY blessings! The ones I'll close my eyes tonight on this Christmas eve thinking of :)

Merry Christmas everyone! Count your blessings this holiday and everyday!

"Those people"

2010-12-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

For 7 weeks now, we have been trying to adjust to life with 2 children. And what an adjustment! Going from Carter, who was the 'perfect' baby...slept like a pro, happy all the time, would take any bottle, any pacifier, etc. I mean...I had it made with him! Then along came Shae'....my sweet princess, who just happens to be more difficult (I guess as a girl, she has to be, right?) I will not lie....the last 7 weeks have been the most challenging, exhausting, frustrating weeks of my life. Having a baby the cries almost everyday from 3p.m.-10 or 11p.m. is draining! Oh..she doesn't cry the entire time...just fusses....and is not content....she'll be happy in the swing for 10 minutes, then cry....we hold her and she's good usually...sometimes she still cries even then. She doesn't nap well at all the second half of the day. Her doctor says this is caused partly from the reflux and partly from colic. COLIC..ugh...I had been refusing to use that term with her...but after the last 2 days and the way she's been, I've been forced to face the facts: I have a colicky baby. There...I said it. Now, the bright side to this is that colic usually disappears by 3 months. We're only 5 weeks away from that. 5 weeks. Needless to say, I'm praying daily that it goes away sooner!

I don't want to make it sound like everyday is pure misery...that's not true at all. For every 2-3 bad days, we have 1 really great day. And it's that 1 great day that gets me through. :) It also helps that she is SO stinkin cute! I still lose by breath sometimes when I look at her...she gorgeous! I'm very proud :) She's at that stage now (even with the colic/reflux) that she smiles a lot and coos...talk about sweet!!! I'm proud to say Mamma gets the biggest smiles too....as it should be, right? :) Here's a couple of pics from this last week. She's gorgeous, huh?

Ok..so as for my title. "Those people". Have you ever been out shopping and seen parents struggle with their kids? You know...the ones who's kids are running through the store like hoodlums (whatever a 'hoodlum' is)? "Those people" who's kids are screaming and making a scene? Yeah...well, last week I realized something: I AM 'those people'. I've officially joined the club. So what made me realize this? Well...it could be that trip to Target we took one night last week. I had waited for Tom to get home so we could go out and run a few errands. (I have yet to leave the house with both kids by myself!) Here's what happened: We enter Target. Tom puts Carter in one cart, I put the car seat with Shae' in another. All is well to begin with. We split up to look for things. As soon as I get into the store good, Shae' starts crying. Well, screaming actually. Tom finds me (all he had to do was follow the sounds of the screams!). He takes Shae' out of the car seat to try and calm her. We continue through the store. Oh, at this point Carter is fussing wanting out of the cart. I'm in a hurry to get out of the store. Tom takes both kids and tells me to go ahead and get what I need. I leave them to finish my shopping. I'm down one aisle when all of a sudden I hear a crash and Carter crying. Yep...he was standing in the back of the cart and fell out! In the middle of the main walkway of the store. Tom is trying to get him up with Shae' on his shoulder at the same time. People are staring. Shae' starts crying again. I take the baby so Tom can deal with Carter. We then go checkout and while standing there waiting to pay Tom says he realizes why I won't leave home with both kids by myself yet.

On to the following evening.....we go to the mall to have dinner and see a Christmas parade they do every night. All starts out well....baby is sleeping, Carter is happy. We go sit at the restaurant to eat dinner before the show. Amazingly, Shae' sleeps the entire time and I'm able to eat my meal without rushing too much. Then we get ready to pay and she's awake and ready to eat. I have a bottle. She refuses it. We then are sitting in a busy restaurant with a screaming, hungry baby. We pay and work our way out the door and into the mall for me to find somewhere to feed her. She eats and we go outside for the parade. Now this is the best 30 minutes of the whole evening. Shae' sleeps on my shoulder while Carter dances on the sidewalk to the music. It was a wonderful 30 minutes! Maybe we should have called it good and went home after that. But no. We have a little shopping we need to do. It's good for a little bit then baby gets fussy. Tom sits in the middle of the mall holding her so I can run into a few stores. I decide to take Carter with me so he's not stuck with both kids. We go into Bath and Body Works and Carter tries to take the big candles off the shelf. Then as we wait to check out, he tries putting a quarter into an outlet, plays with the displays and I find myself saying "Carter, no!" about 50 times. Onto the next store. Victoria's Secret. Yep...I took my 2 year old in there with me...what was I thinking? So, I'm on the hunt for pj's, a gift for my niece. As I'm looking, I hear Carter say, "Mama! See?" I turn around and he's holding a yellow bra up for me to see. Yeah.....I about died. To cut this story short (there's so much I could tell you!) that store experience ended with my trying to get Carter out from under a display, then chasing him around the display several times trying to catch him.....picking up the shoes he was kicking off as I went. Pretty much one of the worst store experiences. That entire evening ended with us about 3 miles from home and having to pull off to the side of the road because Shae' was screaming SO hard. We had to just sit in the car and hold her to calm her down. As we sat there, Tom makes this statement: "We're never leaving the house again."

SO...all of that was to say this: I have become one of 'those people'. After all the looks I got between those two evenings, most from people without kids probably, I realized what I had become. And I ACCEPTED it! I used to look at 'those people' in disgust and think, "why can't they get a hold of their kids?" Now, don't get me wrong, I am not dismissing the need for discipline and training your kids to be well behaved..even in public. But I also have come to the understanding that they will not be perfect. They're KIDS! And when you have one colicky baby and one active 2 year old (that is probably just as tired from the crying baby as we are!), you just can't expect things to always go smooth...especially when out and about. I will be working on Carter and his public outing 'skills'...and of course working with Shae' is an ongoing project, but I've decided not to stress too much about it. I'm done with that. I refuse to be embarrassed by my crazy kids. So people might give disapproving looks...so what? For every one of those looks I get, I also get an 'I've been there and know what it's like' look from an understanding parent. Will I never get frustrated again when I'm out with my kids? Of course I will! Probably almost every time I go out actually...I'll just have to remind myself not to let it get to me.....they're only little once after all. I'll forget all of this when they're older. So my fix for being one of 'those people' is to just relax and enjoy the ride. To try and find the fun in all the craziness. And to stay home. HA.

And the winner is......

2010-12-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

Reflux. Yep...SILENT reflux to be exact.

After a MISERABLE week...no sleep for 4 nights straight, and a baby who was only fussing at night starting to fuss during the day too....I finally gave in and called the doctor. Over last weekend, I started to suspect reflux (after all, Carter had it too at her age and I knew what the symptoms were: frequent waking; congestion; wet burps; crying when lying flat; hiccups, lots of spitting up, etc.). I just wasn't sure because her symptoms were different than Carters. For instance, she hardly EVER spits up! Carter was a projectile vomiter. So I started researching the symptoms of reflux again and discovered there's a thing called 'silent reflux'. With silent reflux, they rarely do spit up...instead when they start to spit up, they swallow it back down causing even more pain because the acid burns the throat coming up and again back down. (ok..so when reading this I was TOTALLY feeling bad for my sweet girl!) :/

Anyway....it was a terrible week to say the least. She got to the point that she wanted to be held almost all day up on our shoulder..to help keep the acid down, I'm sure. So I finally took her in Friday afternoon and told the doctor her symptoms. He said if it wasn't reflux he'd turn in his license! We started her on Zantac that afternoon and last night she slept 6 1/2 hours straight! And I ended up waking her then to feed her...she likely would have slept longer. :) Needless to say, I think I heard angels singing this morning :) She's been great all day today too....totally content in her swing or car seat or wherever! And needless to say, after getting a full nights rest (FINALLY!) I feel like a new person. Here's hoping it lasts and tonight she does just as good (or even better).

Through all of this I'm learning to trust my 'mommy instinct' more and more. With Carter, I was right every time he had an issue and we took him in. With her, I feel like it's taking me longer to find my groove with her and figure her out. For awhile there, I was beginning to doubt myself. I mean, there's NOTHING more frustrating than not being able to figure out your baby's needs. Talk about overwhelming! Throw in the hormones and it's just a mess. I think I'm starting to get there with her, though. I'll admit, it's taken a little longer to really bond with her...I guess it's the 2nd kid thing? Or maybe it's the fussy baby thing? Not sure...but I'm glad that I'm really starting to feel I 'know' her and am close to her. I hope I'm not alone in my feelings...any other mommy's out there that have gone through this? I've certainly felt guilty at times about it.

We had a busy week in spite of all the craziness....friends over for dinner one night (the day she was SO fussy too....I cleaned and cooked most of the day holding her...it was interesting to say the least! And it's a miracle we even had food on the table that night), then we had our church banquet last night. The kids wore their first matching outfits! It was so fun, and they were so cute :) I've added pictures from the week...a few of her and then some family ones. Enjoy! :)

Signed,
One happy, well-rested Mommy ;)

Isn't she a doll?

This picture makes my heart melt! LOVE my babies! :)

Our family shot :)

My sweet little 'present'

In her Christmas dress

Shae' and Mommy before the banquet

"Enjoy the Process"

2010-12-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

The last 4 or 5 days have been ROUGH to say the least......I'm talking no sleep kinda rough. This sweet, wonderful, precious baby girl has been having some MAJOR tummy issues....it's really been giving her fits at night. (poor thing) It seemed to come to a head over the weekend when I spent most of Friday night up with her then Tom spent a lot of Saturday night up with her. She has just been in SO much pain from gas and who knows what else! (ahhh, the life of a parent...when you can write an entire blog about gas! HA!) Anyway, all of my fellow mom's out there understand where I'm coming from. :)
Thankfully, Carter stayed at G'ma's house Sunday night so Tom and I (and Shae'!) could do our Christmas shopping and go to dinner. It allowed me to nap more on Monday morning when she napped (and I would normally have Carter to take care of at those times).

And speaking of Sunday night....we were so excited about our 'date'. I mean, dinner out withOUT a toddler to deal with=BLISS, right? Well, I didn't anticipate the missy being cranky...uggh! Our wonderful PF Chang's dinner was less enjoyable because one of us had to hold her through most of it (makes it kinda hard to eat!) and then we were rushing to get out because she was screaming wanting to eat as we waited for the check. :/ Not to mention our 'too large' stroller that was NOT made to fit through the aisles of Changs....what a night! But I had forgotten how many comments you get when out with a newborn.....the attention is fun...sometimes.

Ok..back to my original story....last night....Oh my....what a night! She was awake every 1-2 hours in pain. Broke my heart to see her hurting. I gave her EVERYTHING trying to help, but nothing seemed to work. By the time her first feeding of the day rolled around, she was hurting to much to eat for more than a few minutes. She did better the rest of the morning until after lunch when all of a sudden I couldn't lay her down awake or fully asleep without her crying. Clingy? For some reason today, yes. And it's lasted up until now...10:30p.m. Tom or I one have had to hold her all night. Here's PRAYING our night tonight is a better one!

So, what does all of this have to do with my post title? Well....I've been thinking through all of this about something I read in one of the GFI books (if you don't know what GFI is, you MUST look into it!) In the infant book, they are talking about your baby's routine, etc. The discussion is about when to move your baby from a 3 hour routine to a 4 hour feeding routine. They make this statement: "Many Mom's make the mistake of trying to transition to a 4 hour routine too quickly. Don't rush it. Enjoy the process." This statement has really stuck with me. I don't know...maybe because my firstborn is 2 1/2 already and I feel like he was born yesterday? (seriously...his birth is more vivid in my memory than Shae's...which is SO crazy to me!) Because of that, I realize how quickly it all goes by. How easy it is when I'm going through the sleepless nights to wish that we could hurry up and get to the next phase instead of taking the time to enjoy this one. I know...not a lot to enjoy about being up at all hours of the night, right? But it IS time I get to spend all alone with my sweet girl....holding and rocking her and bonding. During the day I'm often too busy with Carter to really be able to take that kind of time alone with her. And so often I do find myself wishing we would hurry and get to that 4 hour routine...OH the 4 hour routine! But then I won't have that special time of nursing my baby and enjoying that special togetherness as often in the day as I do now.

My point with all of this is that it would do us all good to "enjoy the process". Whatever that process might be for you.....it could relate to anything, but there is something about taking the time to enjoy where you are NOW and what you are going through NOW. There's beauty in the process. There's joy to be found (although you may have to really look for it!) in the process. And for me....as I type this and my sweet girl is sleeping right beside me and I wait for her to wake for her last feeding before I can get some sleep, I'm reminding myself to enjoy this...every bit of it. Because tomorrow when I wake up, she'll be 2 years old and I'll barely remember this part of it all. :)

Enjoy the pics....they are all of my sweet baby girl (no Carter pics this post!) And were all taken over the weekend. I LOVE my Shae' Shae'! :)

Kidding myself....

2010-12-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

So my last post talked about how smooth my first day alone with 2 kiddo's went. Well, I've realized in the last few days that I was SO kidding myself when I believed I had this! Yes, Monday was a good day, however, Tuesday and Wednesday made up for it (today isn't far enough along yet to tell). Thanks to my precious, sweet, adorable baby girl, I have never felt more sleep deprived in my life...ugghh! She's a champ the first half of the day, but due to a tummy ache that is going on 4 days, our afternoons/evenings have been rough to say the least. Now I am a HUGE fan of the GFI program (ask me about it if you don't know what it is---it's FABULOUS!) and through the program I have a 'contact mom' that helps me with issues as they arise. Well, I spent 35 minutes on the phone with her yesterday (all while Carter rearranged the nursery, might I add...and I couldn't stop him because I was on the phone and feeding the baby at the same time). Wendy, my contact mom, gave me some great advice and as of today I'm trying to take the necessary steps to get this little girl on track.

So in dealing with Shae's fussiness, working on her routine, TRYING to give Carter the attention he needs (I admit I have failed at this lately, unfortunately) and keeping everyone fed (including myself) I have realized that I'm kidding myself by thinking my house will stay perfect all the while. Now, don't get me wrong...I am still trying to keep it as clean as possible...but yesterday dishes sat in my sink the entire day *gasp* This is SO not me! I am the perfectionist who thinks it all has to be clean ALL the time...and even though Carter makes a mess, I make sure it's all picked up before Tom comes home. I do not think he should come home to dishes in the sink and a messy house. But, to my despair, this week dishes have sat in the sink unwashed until the end of the day, laundry has been piling up, and me AND both kids have spent entire days in our pj's up until the afternoon/evening when it's bath time and we all put on another pair of pj's. HA! Oh dear....and I want 3 or 4 kids?

I know this is all temporary. I WILL be back to my house-cleaning, crazy, O.C.D. self soon....I just need some sleep first! Anyhow, among all the craziness, Carter is becoming more and more attached to Shae', which is SO sweet to see! The picture is him being his sweet self with her. :)

Well...time to wake the princess to eat, as I look at toys scattered all over the living room and feel like crawling back into bed NOW for the rest of the day :/ Oh well, at least the dishes are done. :)

My 1st day as a Mom of 2

2010-11-30T09:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my first official day as a Mom of 2! I know, I know....Shae' was 1 month old yesterday...haven't I been a Mom of 2 for a month already? Well, yes...but with a few extra hands around the house every day for that month. Having my Mom here (and my brother...he was a huge help too!) made life SO easy for the last month. Baby crying? No problem..."Mother? Can you get the baby?" Carter needs lunch? "Mother? Can you fix Carter's lunch?" And even in the night...baby crying and won't settle down? I would just call my Mom and she would come and take her so I could go back to bed. Awesome, huh? Yeah.....SO that's why yesterday was the day I was dreading ALL month long! My family left on Saturday, but I had Tom here Saturday and Sunday to help with Carter. Yesterday was the 'real test'. Me. Alone. Both kids. No help. And you know what? I survived! HA. And it wasn't near as bad as I had imagined! I know there will be some bad days ahead....and don't get me wrong, yesterday was not completely hiccup free, but everyone managed to stay fed, dry and happy (for the most part!) I even managed to do a light cleaning in the house AND take a shower all before lunch! Anyway....enough already! The pictures above were taken yesterday. As I sit here typing, I'm looking at my sweet babies playing in the floor (ok, well Shae' is just laying in her bouncer looking around) and thinking how truly blessed I am! <3<3<3

Times are a changing....

2010-11-28T08:06:00.000-08:00

So after a year and a half, I've decided to start blogging again! I'm hoping to be able to keep my family (those who don't have facebook!) up to date with all the happenings of the 'little Lyman's'...meaning Carter and Shae'. Speaking of, a lot has changed since my last post well over a year ago! We have recently welcomed a new member into our family. Shae' Delain Lyman was born October 29th, 2010 at 4:08a.m. A girl...wow...still not sure what to do with her.....I know Carter is my only other child, but after 2 years with him, girl stuff seems a bit foreign and VERY overwhelming! She is a doll baby, though, and she is making her mark in our little family already :)

So much more I want to say (after all, I've got a year and a half to catch up on!) but I hear my 2 year old waking up....so I better run for now! More to come this week!!!

Carter is ONE!

2009-06-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

It's been WAY too long since I've put anything on here....and my has the time flown....Carter turned 1 last week! I can't believe how fast my baby is growing up! A little about him now......

*He weighs 24 pounds and is 31 inches long

*He isn't walking yet, but standing unassisted a lot...I know walking is probably only weeks away..

*He says about 4-5 words: "mama" "dada" "nana" "papaw"...

*He is still the happiest baby I know! Always smiling :)

*He is completely weaned and drinking whole milk now...no bottle either...the pacifier is the next thing to go.....

He is the joy of our lives and we have so much fun together! I've included some pictures of the last few weeks. Motherhood is the most fulfilling job ever! :)

2009-05-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

I NEED that cape!!!

6 YEARS WITH MY SOULMATE

2009-02-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

Last week, Tom and I celebrated 6 wonderful years together! I really can't believe it's been that long, but it has and do we have some wonderful memories together :) Our whirlwind courtship was something right out of a book and our wedding day was the best day of my life! We really do have a wonderful story to share with our children and grandchildren someday. I love my husband so much and am so thankful that God placed me with the "perfect for me" mate <3

Carter is 8 months

2009-01-27T11:26:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday, Carter is now 8 months old!!! He is getting SOOOO big too.....he weighs nearly 21 pounds and is about 28 1/2 inches long...WOW! He's outgrowing everything it seems. Some new things he's started doing in the last month are:
-sitting up on his own
-said his first word, "Mama"
-crawling (well sort of...more of a half drag/half crawl, but he gets wherever he wants to go this way)
-clapping his hands
-waving bye-bye (he's only done this a few times, but we're working on it!)
-lots of 'vocalizing' I like to call it ;) Squeals and high pitched babbling *cute*
-definately into his toys more...he'll sit in the floor and turn a block over and over in his hands. He loves his stacking rings....he'll take each one off (now he needs to learn to put them back on!)

As always, he's such a joy to have around....he's a very good baby. He did experience his first real sickness this past month: a cold and cough followed by a double ear infection. He had it for about 2 weeks, and I thought I was going to lose my mind! He's still a little stuffy, but over the worst of it for sure. Thankfully, he's back to sleeping through the night and being happy during the day.....and even when he was sick, out of the 2 weeks, there was only about 2 days he was even fussy during the day....so no matter how he's feeling, he's just an all around happy baby :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

Carter is 6 months!

2008-12-12T00:45:00.000-08:00

Wow...I can't believe that Carter is 6 months old (as of Nov. 26th) Where did the time go? I held a newborn baby today and just can't hardly remember Carter being so small.....speaking of, at his appointment last week, he weighed in at 19.4 pounds! What a BIG boy I have on my hands!!! He is in the 80th percentile for his weight and height....he will definately be a big one! He is doing fantastic, though....something new everyday it seems. He's rolling across the whole house and will probably be crawling before we know it. He's about ready to pop 2 front teeth.....maybe by Christmas?! He really is a cutie pie...and such a sweet boy. I love spending time with him....my favorite little guy! =)

Christmas Pictures

2008-11-17T10:40:00.001-08:00

We had our Christmas pictures made last night....what an experience! We knew that taking a dog and a 6 month old in for pictures would require some patience....were we ever right! It was pure chaos for most of the session, but our photographer was excellent and we all made it through the experience! (although the session did get cut a little short due to a screaming baby!) Overall we had a great time and we have some pretty cute pictures to show for it! =)

THE MORNING AFTER

2008-11-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to a new America......yesterday, history was made in our nation. I wish I could say I was glad about that. Truth is, I'm very scared for our country. While I think it is amazing that we have come as far as to put our race aside and put a black man in the White House, I feel we have chosen the wrong black man. I'm disappointed in the Christians who voted for a man that stands for so much that the Bible teaches against. It's not about race or political party.....it comes down to morals, and America, we missed it this time! I pray his term is only 4 years and we don't suffer too much as result of his "change". God help America!

Carter is 5 months!

2008-10-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, Carter is now 5 months old! Wow...where has the time gone? He is getting SO big and cuter everyday :) It is so amazing to watch them grow and discover new things. The last month has brought about a lot of changes: he has started solids and is transitioning to eating 3 main meals per day with an extra liquid feeding before bed....this alone is pretty huge! He is also laughing a LOT now...which we LOVE! It's true, your children's laughter is the best sound you'll ever hear. He has started to suck his thumb occasionally....it's pretty cute, but I'm trying to keep him from it. He's sitting up well assisted....and for a few seconds unassisted. Some of the not so good things are: He's been waking in the night a few times fussing for his paci (we've just started to let him cry it out some...even at 3a.m. to break this habit...it's going to take some time!) His schedule has been a mess the last month due to his need for solids, he's been waking at very odd times in the morning....instead of a consistent wake time, it's been very erratic....varying as much as 2 hours! Now that he's getting on solids 3 times per day, we're hoping that fixes that problem quickly.

We are SO in love with this little fella! He has taught me true selflessness.....which is a lesson I think I needed. I'm so thankful for my precious gift from God named Carter.

Enjoy the pictures...they were all taken 1 week ago.

My Full-Time Job

2008-10-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

There is a saying that nothing is more rewarding than parenting.....and while I have found this to be so true, the flip side to that is...nothing is more frustrating than parenting (at times). I am so new at this "parent" business and I am finding that there are definately good days and bad days. Yea...you hear it all the time when you're about to become a parent, but you don't realize the truth to those words until you are there yourself. Carter has been the best thing that has ever happened to me....but the last few weeks have been very frustrating and my patience has been tried over and over. And to be quite honest, a lot of my days have looked like this picture. I am learning the frustrations that come along with parenting.....the crying when you can't figure out what is going on....the late nights and early mornings, the helplessness when the crying just won't stop....yea..it's all true...every parent experiences it. Maybe I was just blessed not to experience it all in the beginning....maybe we're just now catching up with all the other new parents out there? One thing I do know, a little guy is teaching me a LOT of patience but also giving me a whole lot of love...which makes it all worth it ;)

Driving Force....

2008-10-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

So, what drives you to do what you do? I've been asking myself this question lately, and through prayer trying to determine my motives, my ministry and what really drives me. I love what I do, but am I doing it for the right reason? For the right person? I think it's too easy in life, whatever your title, job or ministry, to get caught up in pleasing people. Not that pleasing people is all bad, but I dont want that to be my driving force. Certainly not in ministry! I want God to be pleased above all else and I want my desire to serve HIM to be what drives me to do what I do. I don't want my fear of failing others, or my desire to please others to be what keeps me going.....I want it to be my love for God. And I've found over and over that when I get that priority right, I end up pleasing those around me at the same time.....funny how that works, huh?

It's almost time to vote!

2008-10-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year...election time! Usually this time comes and goes and I don't pay much attention. Of course, when it's a presidential election I take more notice...but I've never been more interested than I am in this presidential election. I fear for our country and the direction it's heading. I know my hope is in Jesus, so I try not to worry too much about it. However, one thing I CAN do is VOTE next month! Are you planning to vote? It's a priviledge to do so...one I hope we do not take for granted!

Elevate 2008 is over....

2008-10-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

Finally, after months and months of planning, Elevate has come and gone. It's amazing to me how you can put so much into something only to have it come and go so fast. This conference has been my burden for years now....there is just such a need for it. I feel it has become more difficult over the years....the enthusiasm I feel doesn't seem to be felt by others involved...at least not as much. Maybe it's my southern upbringing...maybe it's my perfectionism, but sometimes it seems the spirit of excellence is just lost on some people. I've went the last 2 years into this conference saying I would not do it again the next year, and yet, here I am again already thinking about next year's Elevate. I think it is because that each year I see the hunger in people who attend....they need this....for some this may be what motivates them to keep going in their ministry. I know that for me personally, that has been the case when I've attended conferences such as this one. I just pray God can give me the strength to keep at it...and that He will give others in my department and in this area the same vision for this conference.

This year was a very different Elevate......disappointing in some ways, great in others. I know there is a lesson for me to learn from it all and I'm trying to figure it all out. I think sometimes God let's things happen just to show us more about ourselves. I'm realizing that I want to be a better Christian, a better friend, a better leader and just a better person. My eyes have definately been opened to some things over the past few days....some of it has been hard to handle, but I know I have learned from it and it will benefit me in the long run.

There's no way I could put all my thoughts into this one little blog.....so I guess I'll close out for now!

~LL