Old Friends and New Friends

I just love these pictures. These pictures are of Hannah and her precious friends.

Hannah and Jarrett (the youth ministers little boy in Monahans)


Hannah and Karalyn (my best friend from college, her little girl is 10mos older than Hannah). They only live 1.5hrs from us now, and we are so excited that we get to see them more. They are so cute together.

Mothers Day / Baby Dedication

So this picture was taken on Mothers Day which happened to be our last day at Southside in Monahans, and it was also Caleb's dedication day. Big Day! Dedication services for those that don't know is where you surrender and commit yourselves mainly as parents to raise you child in a godly way and to teach them the ways of the Lord. We have surrendered Caleb to the Lord, but still one day as he is older he will have to make his own profession of faith in Christ...this is just showing that are committed to raising him in the ways of the Lord. It was a special day....there were a lot of babies dedicated that day, I think like 14 total. Lots of little ones.


Just a special of picture of me and Caleb....my precious little boy. I'm so glad I have been blessed with having a little girl and a little boy. Such a wonderful mothers day!

Settling In

So, we've been here in Kenedy for 13 days now. Very busy days. I have basically been unpacking boxes, cleaning, and sweeping my floor seriously like 3 times a day..where does all this dirt/trash come from..Caleb absolutley likes to eat it, and then cough and gag until he almost throws up. So I proceed to stick my finger down his throat to get whatever it is OUT, only to repeat this scenerio again 20min later. I just don't remember Hannah eating EVERYTHING like he does. Anyway...so it's been busy unpacking and taking care of the kids. Jeremy has been working all day and then comes home only to fulfill the list I have created for him to do (things I can't do)...like move the heavy book boxes, move the book shelves, put boxes in the shed.....catch the MOUSE. Yeah...you read correctly, another mouse. I mean whats the deal....this makes 3 mice total in like the past 3 months..YUCK. With this one it's even worse....it was midnight and we were painting Calebs room blue..it's so pretty now, anyway, there was this big bag of trash on the floor that the "workers" left there....another story (they're still getting the house ready)..so we notice these ants all over the floor...I thought NO WAY am I putting my baby in this room.....so we spray and kill the ants, vacuum to make sure they're gone....then back to painting, I kinda feel something on my foot....so I wiggle my toes, then again...a MOUSE runs over my foot and down the hallway toward the rest of the house. You've got to be kidding me!!!! Long story short...a few days later when I was in Waco for a wedding...Jeremy caught the mouse!!! So the bug/pest/exterminator man is coming VERY soon to kill everything around.

The house is wonderful, it just hasn't been lived in really for like 3years....so we are discovering what works and what doesn't work, and evidently little critters, bugs, spiders, doodle bugs, geckos, water bugs have seem to taken residency. So I am being brave, but like I said bug man will be coming very soon to take care of this problem.

The church is great so far...I've only been here 1 Sunday so far, but it was neat. The youth here have a lot of potential....they are finishing up school and getting ready for youth camp, we have about 30 going so far. We have really sweet neighbors....one welcomed us with a letter and a giftcard to Dairy Queen. Then today our next door neighbor had her granddaughter here....she is only 1 week older than Hannah.....so they played in the sprinkler in the back yard....it was fun. There really aren't too many kids Hannah's age at church.....she has cried everytime I've left her (I guess which has been like 4 times so far)..but she seems to stop immediately. So I hope things will go well. She's always playing and excited when I pick her up....so I'm sure she's fine....I"m just being mom and don't want my baby to be upset EVER.

Another adjustment is at the house....the kids rooms are way at the other end of the house. I mean the house isn't huge, but definitely bigger than anything we've lived in before. So..we have the monitor in Calebs room....just to remind you, he has slept in our room every night of his life for 10mos, and now he's at the farthest end of the house. The first night was hard....he woke up at about midnight, so we just put him back in our room. Jeremy and I both bolted up out of the bed at his first cry...I grabbed Caleb, and Jeremy brought his pack-n-play back into our room (we were still finding the parts to put his crib back together) and we all slept together. The first couple of nights, we had Hannah's mattress in our room too....I think we just needed a few nights to all be together in this brand new place. Anyway....now things are great. Calebs in his room, Hannah is in her room...if she wakes up in the night she just comes into our room and I got put her back to bed. She's done really well though. So this whole adjustment has been an adventure.

Our parents are thrilled to have us closer. Waco is only 3hrs away. This past weekend I had a wedding to go to....so we woke up, ate breakfast, packed, drove to Waco, and got there in time to eat lunch....didn't even have to stop along the way. It was wonderful.

Ok, I think this is all for now....still no pics. Seriously they will come soon....we are mostly unpacked, but we still have to find little random things that you never know where they put them when they pack all your stuff away.

We've Moved

Hello to all my blogger buddies. I know it's been awhile since my last post, but I have a good reason. We have moved to Kenedy, Texas. Everything happened kind of quickly, last Friday, we had a garage sale while packers were inside packing up all our stuff. Saturday they loaded the truck. So we were "camping out" in our Monahans home with air mattress which Hannah thought was really cool for 2 days...and I might add, the kids and I had terrible colds....so much fun!!

Sunday was our last day at our church in Monahans, I know our time there wasn't very long, but we will definitely miss some folks. We know the Lord had us there for a time and we learned a lot and served the best way we knew how to. So now we will see how the Lord wants to use us in Kenedy. Jeremy will be the youth minister at FBC Kenedy. So I'll keep you posted on how things go there.

No pictures today, but hopefully soon I'll update again.

Paid in Full

Whew...well today we officially made the last payment to Medical Center Hospital in Odessa for Caleb's birth and my stay in the hospital! YEAH! I mean it's not like if we didn't pay...they'd come and take Caleb away or do something bad to me....it's just really nice to have that little boy paid off : ) I think the grand total for EVERYTHING in the hospital from June 21-July 25 was like $50,000. Of course insurance paid a lot of that. I'm so thankful for health insurance. We figured when we were doing our taxes that in 2007 we spent about $18,000 dollars for medical costs.....yes money out of pocket! We figured our grand total income that year was $36,000. Crazy when the year before we're living on probably $65,000, with only 1 child. I know it's a lot of numbers, but the reality of provision is amazing to me.

We were reflecting on things and it's just really a supernatural thing of how God provided for us in the year 2007. First of all...I get pregnant in December 2006. Jeremy quits his job at Baylor (an act of faith since we were actively pursuing a ministry position), I'm working part-time, Jeremy has odd jobs here and there, we sell our house and move to a ministry position paying $30,000 a year for our soon to be family of 4. God just met all of our needs...from church members, parents, coworkers, checks just showing up in the mail from simple acquaintances, so many ways.

I'm so thankful and grateful for all we have...most importantly my family and the relationships with family. I mean ultimately everything we have belongs to the Lord, it is just on loan to us while we are here.

The pictures are just ones I like. Hannah is practicing checking her e-mail (what have we created). Also she says she's checking EBAY and that shes blogging. Good girl.

Starting Early

Caleb has a new favorite toy. Hannah's piano. He absolutley loves it, and he stays entertained for long periods at a time. I love his facial expressions.

Still Here

Hello to my faithful blog readers. I know, I know, no blogging in awhile. We're still here and I promise to update again soon, just not now. I'm tired and we've been really busy lately, so now I'm going to bed. Just wanted to say HI, and keep checking the site. I love to hear from you and read your comments. I'll update later this week with pictures and everything!

Having Fun

Just a cute pic of my kids. Caleb can actually wear cute clothes now since he very rarely spits up anymore, and look no bib. WOOHOO. I only had to deal with about 9mos of constant spitting, cleaning, wiping, and washing. Of course he was worth every moment of it.


Going for a walk around the neighborhood. They love to ride in this stroller. I got this stroller from a surprise baby shower I had while in the hospital waiting for Caleb to be born.

Hannah helping us cook. She loves to help "mix it" and pour anything into a bowl. She's wearing her fancy apron that she now wears all the time when she is "cooking". She's concentrating so hard...she does such a good job.

Hannah absolutley hates to have her hair washed. She is terrified of the "shower thing" that I use to rinse her hair. I would use a cup but it takes forever because her hair is so long. So for now we're back to the cup and will gradually work up to using the shower head once again. So now she likes to wear my shower cap so I can't get her hair wet. Smart kid.

Leaving a Legacy

I feel like every picture on my blog is of my children....except for the infamous mouse picture (which I might add we had ANOTHER mouse in our house, so that makes 2)..I was more composed this time and didn't even take a picture, I'm making progress. I digress....so this blog of for my kids. I love them so much. I spend all day every day with them, and I'm trying to cherish every moment. Yes there are hard days, but there are more days where I laugh with them, play, have tea parties, blow bubbles, have picnics, read books, watch kid movies, eat veggie tale fruit snacks, cuddle, sing songs, and dance. I love being a mom, and my kids love me. Hannah still loves to cuddle and rock, and Caleb is DEFINITELY a mama's boy.

It's nice to feel that important in someone's life, but I pray everyday for my children that they would come to accept Jesus Christ at an early age, and that they would learn to hear and understand the spirit of God. I want to point them to Jesus and have them know that that is the approval they need to seek the most. I pray that Jeremy and I can teach them, and be an example for them to follow. It is such an honor yet an incredibly humbling privilege to be a parent. I'm so thankful that I have had this opportunity and the blessing of loving my 2 little children.


As spring time is here and it's getting warmer outside, it makes me remember back to last summer when I was pregnant with Caleb, and in the hospital for 5 weeks. Hannah was 20mos old at the time and all I could do was have her sit on my hospital bed with me, which she really didn't want to do. She just wanted to go downstairs and look at all the fish in the aquarium. I couldn't pick her up, or really even hold her. I wanted so badly to "play" and do things but I couldn't. So all that to say, the other day we were at the park having a picnic and playing. I cherish these moments and enjoy the simple things of life because you never know when you won't have them.


After going through such a hard time waiting for Caleb to be born, really that was the hardest circumstance that I had ever gone through in my life thus far, I am so blessed. I have had an "easy" life for the most part...but I learned more than ever that during times like that when you have absolutley NO control, you make a choice. I had to choose to find joy in the small things, and trust that God really would sustain me and protect both me and my little boy. There were many scary moments but God really did protect us both. So....my sweet little boy...I'm so glad God gave me a son. He looks so much like his daddy (which I LOVE, and who is very handsome), big blue eyes, but he has my dimples. Such a precious baby. He's getting so big and is very curious about everything. We were trying out the hat just like daddy.


Such a sweet face. You just grow more in love with your babies as the days go by. He will be 9mos old this month....I really can't believe how fast the times goes by. He is now scooting/crawling everywhere. He loves Hannah, they laugh together and at each other, especially in the car. It's great entertainment and makes car trips much easier now. Hopefully they will play together and like each other for a long time.

Early Mornings

Daddy watching the kids in the early morning, so I can rest a little bit longer. I have the best husband ever!


My sleepy kids...love it!

Creativity at its Finest

Ok so look closely...I made this shirt for Hannah and she is proudly showing it off. Ok, not the actual shirt itself, but the cross on it. At our moms group that meets on Mondays, we had craft day and this is what we made. It encouraged and inspired me to delve into the not so creative side of myself and see whats there. It was fun, and Hannah loves her shirt. I guess I'm glad it's about 3 sizes too big, but that way she can wear it for years.


This is just a close up so you can see the art work. So my rhinestones aren't perfectly lined up but it still turned out ok.

New carseats for everyone!

Ok my kids have officially both outgrown their carseats. Hannah is now officially in a big kid booster seat. She is strapped in the car by the car seatbelt, no more 5 point harness straps....kinda makes me a little nervous, but she is the size of a 4yr old even though she is only 2.5yrs (tomorrow to be exact). She weighs 37lbs, and is 38inches tall. Caleb is definitely too tall for his infant seat now....so he is now in Hannah's old carseat, he looks so grown up doesn't he? So of course we had to take some pictures on graduation day...to the big kid seats of course.

Happy Easter!

My little princess Easter morning before church.


Caleb dressed in his cute little Easter outfit from Memaw and Pawpaw.


Well atleast I tried to get a picture of the kids together. This was after church, Caleb was very tired.


Hannah at the big easter egg hunt at the park. Caleb wasn't too interested.

Daddy and the kids

Caleb had fun learning what sand was, he liked to eat it too. Oh well, we figured a little sand wouldn't hurt anyone. In this last picture, Caleb is pulling Hannah's hair so he can eat it. He has this fascination with hair. He likes for me to hold him, and he like to suck on his fingers while holding my hair and go to sleep. I'm not sure what would happen if I cut my hair.

Sandhills

This is one of my most favorite pictures of the kids. I love it. We went to the Monahans sandhills and had fun.


Mmmm what is this stuff??


I like sand, this is fun! Such a cute picture, I love this one.


Family picture.


Hannah just being cute!

Ok, I have so many more cute pics, but I think i can only post 5 at a time....so I'll add more later. We had fun, I didn't know if I'd enjoy it, but I loved it. The weather was perfect, not hot at all. The sand was cool to touch. Hannah had fun chasing her ball up and down the hill.....oh the energy little kids have. I'll post more pics later.

A Fun Week!

So we decided to get Hannah a tricycle. It's a classic dual decker tricycle, just like the old days. She loves it. At first she wasn't real sure about it, but now she wants to ride it all the time. We're still working on the whole pedaling thing, but other than that she does pretty good. I feel like she's so big now. I mean I took pictures of Jeremy putting the tricycle together, and I thought, this is the first of many "assembly required" toys. This is a fun part of life.

Maybe we're close to potty-training. Today we were getting ready to go to the park, and Hannah brought me her panties and said, "I want to wear panties like mommy".....I said Oh good, once you go in the potty and keep your diaper clean we can. So we'll see, atleast she may be showing a little interest now. I'm not really rushing the issue at all!!

Then theres Caleb who is still very much in the infancy part of life, he's discovering so much these days. He is so close to crawling. He gets on his knees and kinda rocks back and forth, he hasn't quite figured how to get on his hands yet. He scoots a lot. This morning, I laid him on his blanket on the floor in the middle of the living room, and came back in and he was in the corner eating the answering machine, and the phone cord. So I'll need to rearrange things soon.

As far as sitting goes....he just doesn't really like to sit I don't think. He'll be 8mos old in 3 days, and he really doesn't sit well yet. We're working on it. He arches his back when you position him and he just wants to lay down and roll around. So a friend showed me, that I should put him in a sitting position and just hold onto his hips or the top part of his legs, that way he is forced to use his torso to balance, and hopefully this will help with strength and balance.

Ok now for the pics....some are of Hannah and the tricycle. Then theres daddy and Caleb at the park, they're just so cute! Caleb looks so much like Jeremy, but his hair is getting blonder and blonder. His eyes are still blue. We also had a great time with Jeremy's family, they came for a visit....there was a cute pic of grandpa and Hannah looking at some fish. Enjoy!

Stay Tuned

Ok, I tried to upload a video...yeah I know, kinda hi-tech. Anyway, it didn't work. So...when Jeremy gets home I'll try to let him figure it out. So until then...you just get some pics.

These are just some cute ones I like.

The Park

We went to the park when my parents were here and Hannah had a great time. This was the first time that she has really "ENJOYED" the swing. She wasn't scared. She also liked to go down the biggest slide by HERSELF...she's growing so fast! Enjoy the pics.


Look close....she's holding on by herself!


My sweet little girl.


She didn't like this swing too much.


Loved this one!!


I'll post more pics soon. Our computer is up and running, and all the pics are reloaded to the hard-drive. So keep checking the site....let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.