And then there were FOUR

Well, last week I found out that Joe and I are expecting number TWO! We are so thrilled. I feel so blessed and happy to be able to have two adorable little kiddos.
Number Two is due around February 3rd, 2010. Maybe GranMere will be able to share a birthday!

Now I am looking at every thing we do through out the day, and trying to imagine doing it with another baby in tow. And I'm going about the task of clearing out the "spare room" - which is just a nice term for junk collector.

Just wanted to share my news with everyone!

LONG DAY

Days like today, when Joe is gone from early in the morning until after Christian goes to bed, are very long days! It is even worse when I don't have a playdate scheduled.
Even still, we had an interesting day!
Went to Swoozies, (my first time, VERY cool store!) and picked up a hat and bib for the big first birthday party. When we got home, I planned on letting Christian play in the yard / driveway for a minute while I got all my things out of the car. WELL... he lost his balance and fell headfirst onto the driveway :-( Poor guy! He looks worse than it is... he didn't cry much at all!

Later; I worked on painting the baseboards, first time to try painting while he was awake. Not as bad as it could have been... he touched a couple wet spots, and I gave him his own paint brush to help, and he was "painting" the walls, and sometimes the spots I had just finished painting. Very cute. I love that he is wanting to copy what I do.

I've noticed he is also starting to really figure things out - how mega blocks work ( he loves those!! ) and this gumball machine toy that you push a lever, the ball rolls out, then after all the balls are gone, you have to drop them back in the top. He put all the pieces together, and actually managed to put the balls back in the right spot, with surprising accuracy! He was so proud of himself. Me too!!

I get so much joy and pleasure out of watching him discover, learn, explore, and develop into his own personality. He really is so much fun!

A trip to the mall

Today I had a playdate at Carolina Place mall, in the play area. I had never been to this play area before; and was surprised at how much fun it really was. Christian had a blast, and I was able to have grown up conversations with some other moms.

And he only slept the last 10 minutes on the way home. That doomed me. I am convinced that a 10 minute nap is the baby equivilant to an adult's 45 minute power nap. He was then wired all afternoon! We got home at 12:30-ish, ate lunch and I was thinking I was going to let him burn off some energy until 2, which is the latest he goes down for a nap. Well, I tried to rock him and let him  unwind three times between 2 and 3:30. FINALLY at 3:30 he was tired enough to fall asleep. The other times, he would just laugh, and talk and point at things in his room. He amazes me, I have no idea where his energy comes from. I wish I could tap into it.

I'm planning my first kiddie birthday party; although there won't be any kids there.
Making decisions on the cake, the food, etc. is somewhat stressful! I think it's harder trying to decide on the food for adults - but we'll see next year when I'm trying to serve umpteen picky eating toddlers.

This picture is from the mall playdate. Kind of blurry; took with my cell phone.

Productive Day!

Wow... actually had a very productive day today. Did some touch up painting, painted the stairwell, and had a great morning at church.
We are having Christian's first birthday party next Saturday, so I have a lot I need to get accomplished. Lots of little projects I've been putting off that I want to finish before the party. Gonna be a long week.

 

Christian sleeping on the way home from church...

He's almost one!

Wow... I can't believe that Christian is almost a year old. This year has literally flown by!
I can remember so vividly going into labor, and everything up until the time he was born; then everything after that is kind of a blur! You know, the memories are there, but it's all a bit fuzzy.

Life with Christian, now technically a toddler I guess, is so wonderful. He is just so much fun - and usually in a wonderful mood. He has been walking really well for almost a month - it's so cute to see him get so much joy from simply walking around and exploring things.
This past year has been quite a learning experience, Joe and I will know better what to do the next go round. Having your first baby is quite a shock to the system; I do remember coming hom with him, and wondering, well what do we do know?! Sleeping was the biggest struggle for us; but we finally have it pretty much under control.

So now we are looking out on another year; and it promises to get more exciting with every day.
It's taken me 4 days to write this, so I have totally lost my train of thought.

If anyone is reading this, I promise to write more regualarly this year :)

Forgiving

At church this morning, Jeff's talk got me thinking - and wanting to blog. We are winding down a series at church on the book The Shack; and this mornings topic was on forgiveness and how important it is.

A couple years ago, I was going to a christian counselor to work through some things in my life. It was more a discipleship program, for lack of better words, than anything else. One of the first things we did, was to spend several weeks on forgiveness, the concept, how important it is, and then an excersize where I forgave people in my life I needed to forgive. I spent an entire week praying and asking God to reveal to me anyone in my life, currently or in the past, who had hurt me, intentional or not, that I needed to forgive. It didn't matter how petty it seemed, if I felt I needed to forgive them, I wrote their name down.

Then at our meeting that week, I sat in a chair, and across from me was an empty chair. I took my list, and one by one, pretended the person I was forgiving was in that chair, and I talked to them. Outloud. I told them what they had done to hurt, me, then told them that I forgave them, verbally. For some, there wasn't a lot of emotion, and for others, I could barely get the words out. I also had to forgive myself, and God. I know, God has never actually done anything against me, but being human, we often get angry at God and feel he has hurt us, or we just don't understand what's going on.

Forgiveness is a decision. I still do this activity, slightly modified, from time to time. Sometimes I don't feel like forgiving someone, it is more comfortable to hang onto that hurt and anger. But as a Christian, I am told to forgive. It really isn't an option in my opinion. Like Jeff said, I don't always forget, and sometimes there is still a lot of pain even after I forgive that person. However, somehow, the simple act of deciding to forgive, and speaking the forgiveness, makes the pain slowly begin to subside. It starts the healing process.

On another topic - at Threshold, we feel God has called our church to double in size by this coming Easter. To really reach out to the community and touch peoples lives. Part of this is a challenge by Jeff (our pastor) to pray for one person in our lives, for an opportunity to talk take our relationship to a deeper level, and eventually invite them to visit our church. Jeff is also praying for that person along with us.

This reminded me of something today.

When I was in high school; I didn't make the best decisions, and, well, we'll say I ran with the wrong crowd. Typical bad high school stuff, but details aren't needed. I grew up in church, but just wasn't really living right. I had a friend, Thurston, who I hung around with a lot, but he wasn't into the same stuff I was. He was into the "straight edge" scene. Well, we both ended up going to App. State; and halfway through my first semester, a girl I grew up at church with finally talked me into going to inter-varsity. I was tired of all the partying, and really ready for a change. I was just ready. So I went, and I actually ended up re-connecting with quite a few people I went to high school with. Thurston was one of those. I got really involved with inter-varsity, and it made a huge change in my life. I took a total 180 degree turn. Thurston and I were in a small group together, and one night, he said he wanted to talk to me. He told me he had been praying for me for several years. And that to see how much I had changed and who I was now meant the world to him. I still get emotional about it.

The fact that one person cared enough about me to pray for me for several years, and was able to see a dramatic change in my life, is still amazing to me. It is something I will never forget.

The whole point of that story is if you are praying for one person, don't give up. Continue to pray for them, and one day, maybe a few years later, you may be able to see that person change their life. It is so worth it. You don't have to tell them you were praying for them, but if you do, it could make their year.

Jeff and I are praying for a friend of mine. I have a hard time getting to know people, I'm kind of an introvert. I get really scared and nervous talking to people I don't really know, and even reconnecting with people I haven't seen in years. I'm working on it though.
Well this week I came out of my cave and spent some time with this person we are praying for. One small step, but proof enough for me of the power of prayer, and that I really can do anything.
So maybe one day, I'll be able to see a change in her life, and tell her that I've been praying for her. Hopefully it won't be years though.

Who do you need to forgive? and who are you praying for?

What a crazy month

Boy, has this been a crazy month. Or at least it seems that way.
Joe's been working a lot, which means I've been doing 90% parenting... it is very tiring.
However, Christian is at a really fun phase, where he is figuring out crawling and starting to pull himself up. It is all very clumsy still, but it is still lots of fun to watch.
Things are really going to change around here when he does get mobile. I'll have to watch him every second - he is going to be a climber I think. He already tries to climb on me all the time!
It is so much fun to listen to the noises he makes, watch his curiosity, and just watch him in general.

I'm reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover right now, and we are getting ready to start the baby steps. The hardest part really is changing your habits. It is true, we know all the things you are "supposed" to do with money, but the hardest thing is to not get your wants when you want them. It takes so much self control; we are really going to have to look at the end goal and work our butts off to get there.

This political season is just crazy as well. I was very disappointed for a while that John McCain was the rep. nominee, and am still not thrilled with the prospect, but he is growing on me; and I really like Sarah Palin, like so many other conservatives. She has so much to offer, and I think the Washington scene could really use some basic common sense. There isn't really anything "special" about her, other than the fact that she is pretty much a normal everyday person, with a good head on her shoulders who isn't afraid to work hard and get her hands dirty. She has common sense, and I think she would actually make an excellent President one day. There is such a stark difference between her and Hilary. Palin is warm, inviting, and seems like a "real woman" - she is feminine, successful, and has goals and ambitions. Clinton is cold, doesn't really seem happy to be a woman, is more manly than feminine, and is just ruthless and ambitious. Palin invokes trust and unites conservatives. Clinton divides and creates distrust.
It is also quite funny the way she is driving the liberals totally crazy. I'm amazed at how hateful some people can be, all towards someone they don't even know. I'm not surprised, but it is disturbing none the less.

I'm looking forward to the new tv season... namely a show called "Legend of the Seeker" that is starting in November. It is based on a series of books I loved...
With that... I'm off to take care of the more domestic things in life.