Eating Eggs

Last Week of Birthday Month

The post insinuates that we celebrate my birthday all month long (like we ought to)...but we don't really do that around here.  I just needed a super catchy title, and by golly, I think I've got it!

Here is a recap (in pictures) of this past week:

Russ and Miranda (and kiddies) came into town for a little visit early in the week:

Bailey and Thomas looking sweet together!

Miranda and Thomas also looking sweet together!

The children gettin' down with their bad selves (with no music playing, I should add)

Robots:

Entertaining the babe

Jacob has also gotten to play with his bestest buddy, Mia Katheryn!  Mia Katheryn, and her mommy were an answered prayer after we moved here...I can actually see their house from my front door, that's how close they live!  And that's pretty amazing considering we live in a 400+ house neighborhood!  Jacob and Mia Katheryn are actually less than a week apart in age!  God is so good to care not only for me in finding me a friend (who shares a birthday with me!) in Kelly, but also a buddy for Jacob...and a 5 month-older-than-Thomas buddy for our little guy too in MK's sister, Abigail!

Then there's been some organizing going on, a bit of cleaning, and lots of list-checking-off too!  In the midst of all this, the two little boogers have managed to still have a good time!

You can see Thomas' two little teeth if you blow this picture up, and by " blow up" I don't mean use explosives, I mean, make it larger:

The Event of a Lifetime

We made a big purchase in our house this past weekend...and a slight automotive upgrade from the '97 Honda Accord:

Yea, it's one pretty bad minivan (bad, as in Michael Jackson's use of bad) and it's truly like driving a luxury car compared to my trusty Accord!  Just picture me cruising the strip (in front of the neighborhood pool), top down (sunroof open), screamin' out, "Money Ain't a Thing" (that was actually a flashback to my days of old and Jay-Z) in this thing.  No,  but really, one can only imagine how thankful we are to have a car that has reliable AC and little more storage space for people and goods! 

The Pictures That You've All Been Waiting For...

As you can imagine, life has been a little different these days, and I can't quite seem to force myself to take too many pictures like I used to.  I think I like the DSLR, but truthfully, I still don't know how to take decent pictures on it, because I haven't read the manual or the neat book that Jeff got (which is why his pictures, when he takes them, are so much better!).  Also, Jacob accidentally broke the lens on my point and shoot almost immediately after Thomas was born, and that is really the go-to camera for me.  Since I've been without it, that means, we've been without many pictures to document our adventures.  There is just no way homegirl here is going to load up all the camera gear to go to the pool or the park or wherever...because I have enough gear as it is!

So that's my preface to this post.
Although we haven't posted pictures in over a month, I just don't have that many!
  What I meant to say was I thought I didn't have very many pictures, but evidently I do still have a bunch.  

Our first section is Jacob sporting his t shirt I made him for his program day at VBS.  Jacob and I made some wonderful friends who actually live like right across the street from us here!  Jacob's little friend, Mia Katheryn, is like a week (a little less I think) younger than he is, so they have BIG time together.  Her mom, Kelly, invited Jacob to their church's VBS and he had a BLAST! 

 Here they are during the pre-K singing part:

That weekend led us up to Father's Day where Jacob decided to try his bike without training wheels!  It's a work in progress...he is captain careful, which explains the elbow, knee and wrist guards.  He decided he wanted to wait after he tried it that first day.  I want to wait 'til it's not 8,000 degrees outside, so I'm cool with the whole postponing thing! 

For Father's Day, I had already purchased Jeff a milkshake maker thingy a while back, but Jacob had a few other good ideas for Jeff, one of which was his own "man apron".  Every man wants his own embroidered apron...I think.  He also got a pair of work gloves so he won't get stuck with thorns from our rosebush out front, and some hooks to hang his grill tools on while he's working.  So, yea, Jacob came up with  pretty good little ideas for Daddy on Father's Day!!

 

I did a little crafting here and there over the past month, and here is one of the products of nap time: a dress for cousin Abigail!

 

I also made a new jon jon thing for Thomas which will show up in a later picture.  And the bigger project is I've been recovering the pillows in the living room with some fabric I got back while I was in Va Beach.  I think I have a picture of those on my phone, but I have no idea how to make those appear on my computer!!

In food news, Thomas still eats anything that you will put near his face.  This picture is him enjoying Jeff's requested Father's Day dinner of spaghetti casserole.  He eats literally everything (except grits)...he likes guacamole, chicken pot pie, garlic green beans, macaroni and cheese, grilled chicken, grilled vegetables, and he even ate several meals of our Texas chicken spaghetti!  

Jacob and I decided to make a rainbow cake one day, and it was really pretty!  I would definitely make this again at a more opportune time-- we finished this cake and then had to leave to go to Richmond for Dad, so I would say that we really didn't get to enjoy it!

Jacob made some blue scrambled eggs the other day and I let him cook them on the stove for the first time!

Jacob also found this sandwich recipe in one of his Highlights magazines (well, actually it's called High Five, for preschoolers) and did a great job making it all by himself one day!

Here are some cute, random pictures of Jacob and Thomas...still getting along famously!  Jacob tells me all the time how they are best friends!

 I like this one of Jacob!!

Here's a full on shot of the outfit I just recently made Thomas:

And here are a few of just little Tom Tom!

If only 1.) I was as cute as any of the guys in this picture, and 2.)  I could have a good picture taken of me and the young ones!  Jeff has all the luck!

And KRISTI came this week!!!  It was a joyous time for all of us in the house! I was so thankful for her to come spend some time here with us...it took my mind off things for a while and Jacob LOVES her which is just an added bonus!  In fact, he invited her to come live with us a couple times.  She has more pictures that will come later from our little hike...

Mobile

The Only Appropriate Thing:

As many of you know, my Dad died about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I have had pictures that I had wanted to post on here, actually the very day that I found out...but then the world seemed to stop. I am sure my millions (or maybe like 3-4 people, realistically) of readers are just desperate for some updated pictures of Jacob and Thomas, and those will come, but not right now. After much debating on what my first post-Dad post should be, I kept coming back to re-posting something that I wrote a couple months back. I know that this post struck Dad because he shared it with me, and he shared it with the world on facebook...that he "wished he had the wisdom of his 26 year old daughter". I didn't and don't deserve to be so showered with God's love and mercy...but because Jesus is GRACE, that's what it is. I'm glad that I posted this, and am posting it again, because I know it meant a lot to Dad to read it, and I hope that for those of you who didn't read it the first time, or even if you did...would read it now. Jesus loves you, He wants you for His own, and when He has you, your sins are forgiven, you are a new creation, and you can live with a new purpose...to glorify God...knowing that ultimately, after our work here on earth is done, we are getting to spend eternity in Heaven with God Himself...Here's the re-post:

Throughout the past year, I've seen a lot of people struggling...some with having a baby, like us, some with loss of family or friends, some with a loss of job, some with life-changing circumstances that were just totally unexpected. And no matter what the trial, they all seem to come down to trusting God with each of our circumstances. With all the big things like the timing and planning of our families, and with all the little things, like getting dinner fixed on time. That can be incredibly hard and I am still struggling with it daily, but by the grace of God, He is working on that with me!! I know how it is to be hopeless-not knowing Christ-but I also know how it feels as a believer to be heartbroken over an unanswered prayer (on our case having another baby), knowing that God cares for me, but still basically unaware of His TOTAL love for me as His child. I hope that by sharing a little bit of the lessons we learned, you too may be encouraged (and I hope to find a little encouragement myself for all the current trials!!) and know that you are loved by a God who is sovereign over every last detail of our lives-our families, our dress size, our jobs-all of it!


Lesson #1: As I've seen over and over again in my own life, as well as in my study of the book of Genesis this year, God is able to work through our own sin to still grow our faith and to still bless us, and to still work out His will. (For we know that God works together all things for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Rom. 8:28) He is merciful to us (he withholds the just punishment that we deserve) and gracious, which leads to...

Lesson #2: God does not deal with us the that we deserve to be dealt with when we are believers in the perfect life, atoning death and glorious resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, our sin still has consequences that can be painful, but we are forgiven for past sins, for present sins, and for future sins---for all of them because of our belief in Jesus. In my case, I have to struggle daily to remember and believe that my sins are fully forgiven and that "there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). God has also shown me that He did not just forgive the sins that I thought were "forgivable", but it is ALL of them--every last atrocious one of them! So because of this, God will not (and did not) close His ears to the prayers of His child, or become silent because of my past sin. Again, not to be redundant, but this is because of my (and your) belief in Jesus. God will not leave or forsake you...or me, when we are His children because of Christ. ( Heb. 13:5) This might sound really basic for some of you, but I had a HARD time over the months that we were trying to get pregnant with believing that particular month was because of my (of Jeff's) past sin. Please hear me though when I say that this is NOT TRUTH!! Again, we know this is not truth because the Bible says that,
"He does not deal with us according to our sins nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love towards those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:10-12

Praise God for that wonderful reminder! This leads us into...

Lesson #3: Since it was not our past sin that determined why we were not hearing an affirmative answer to our prayers...we now can truly see (hindsight's 20/20 right?) that God's timing and plans for my life are PERFECT. I guessed away and felt guilt about why we didn't get pregnant that month or the next, but the fact of the matter was (and is) that God knew the plans He had for me from before the earth began ("in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them" Psalm 139:16) and that that just was not the time that He had planned for us to have a baby! Waiting on the Lord and His timing was not and is not easy for those os us lacking patience (me!), but I believe that each of these trials that we encounter where we have to wait on the Lord-where we can not push ahead ourselves to get what we want-are the times that we will grow and become more steadfast in our faith and will also be growing in the virtue of patience! Just think about James 1:2-4:

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

So take heart, because no matter the trial--God has a purpose for it and that is to perfect you---making you more like His Son!
Now, lesson #4 is a bit rambling, but stay with me (haha!) ! The night before we found out we would be having a baby, and in the midst of the trial, I heard a song on the radio...it's a Tenth Ave North song that I think is called "Hold My Heart" . I had heard it quite a few times before, but in typical me-style, only knew a few words of the chorus. When the chorus came on, here's what it sang:

One tear in the driving rain, one voice in a sea of pain.
Could the Maker of the stars hear the sound of my breaking heart?

Even though this was not a verse straight from scripture, it was exactly what I was thinking at that time-day after day. Here's the sad story part-this struck me so hard that I ended up crying the rest of the ride home that night, all the while stuck on that question, "could the Maker of the stars hear the sound of my breaking heart?". I mean, could God, who created the entire universe, who created each and every person in it, who holds it all together (Colossians 1:17)--could He know the way that I feel right this second, the way that I have felt for months, that I so desperately wanted another baby that times like that one felt like I could hardly breathe? Could He really know that, and, you know, hold the whole universe together- at the same time?! I was definitely crying out to God that night, and because He is who He says He is, and is big enough to handle it all at once, and He does hear each of our prayers, as Jesus lives to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25), and because He does love us with a perfect love like we'll never experience from another person here on earth-He gave me my answer to prayer the very next morning.

I know that everyone's stories of trial and suffering are different--many much more painful and some with a not so happy ending. And for all of those situations, I pray that God will give you comfort and peace and grace so that you will remain filled with hope and His love. But, with all that being said, I do know this-that God knows you and He loves you and He is ready for you to know more of Himself. God desires for all to come to repentance and to know and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). And that is really the MOST important lesson that I re-learned through that trial, and that I am constantly in need of re-remembering. It is the most important thing in my life and the most important thing about me--my relationship with Jesus, and the salvation that I have because of Him who was and still is a friend of sinners like me, who lived a perfect and holy life in my place, when I never could, who was punished to the point of death on a cross for each of my (and your) sins; in the past, in the present and in the future; when I could not have paid that penalty myself, and was raised to life again by God and who now sits at the right hand of God in heaven (Colossians 3:1). "It is finished" is what Jesus said before He gave up His spirit and died on the cross--and He spoke the truth. Sin, shame, and guilt no longer have control over me because Jesus has conquered that. If you don't have Jesus as your Savior who knows you personally and who died for you and who lives to make intercession for you, then I pray that you would be drawn to the thing of God--to the Bible, to church, to other believers who can help point you to God. I pray that your eyes would be opened to the truth and overwhelming LOVE that is written all throughout the Bible and all of His creation.

So, today, about a year after our prayers were answered, we have the most perfect family God could have given us, made up of a couple of redeemed sinner united in a marriage that we believe in and that we value and that is still (and always will be!) a work in progress, with two little guys who I pray will grow up to love the Lord and serve Him no matter what--even if it's not easy or comfortable. Jacob already talks about God's love and care for him and desperately wants to go to heaven (so long as he can take his blanket!). Thomas isn't really doing much talking on the subject as of lately, but hopefully one day he too will be talking and asking and singing about the Lord like Jacob does!

I hope that if you are reading this (and if you have made it this far- you definitely deserve some sort of award!)that you have been even slightly encouraged about God's love and care for you in the midst of your trials. And of course, I hope that this Easter Sunday, you are able to go to church and praise the God of the heavens and the earth and celebrate the fact that Jesus is truly alive today!