A good day

Today is a good day....not that I have particularly bad ones. But you know those days where all is going well and you feel like a good mommy and wife....well this is the kind of day I am having. I LOVE these days!

Lord, help me to be pleasing in Your eyes....I can't do it without You.....You are the source of my strength..................and help all the other mommies and wives out there to rely on You to lead them through their days so that others can see You in us. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

8 months

Well, a little late with his 8 month post! Israel is doing great...he is continuing to develop his personality each day. Oh, where to start?? He is pulling himself to stand up and will cruise down furniture just a bit if he sees something he wants. He can get down from standing position easily now and is very tough as he doesn't cry if he does have a rough landing. Lately when I put him down for bed and naps he gets so happy...he will sit up and I will wrap his blankets around his shoulders and will say over and over "night, night, I love you" and he will smile and giggle and lower his head to the bed and say "ni"....it is so stinkin' cute. He has always been good about sleeping but I can't believe he actually gets happy about sleeping...ha....I think it has to do with the routine or something. He can throw a ball and wave bye-bye now. He likes to throw both hands up in the air over his head. He likes to do the thing where you take your hands over your lips to make the sound and he likes to do it to others as well. He has shown no signs of stranger anxiety as of yet. He LOVES attention from his daddy and initiates play with him. He likes when I hold him and daddy plays with him. He is very social with his daddy...probably because his daddy is very social:) I LOVE this age.....it seems he does something new everyday! He is a very easy baby and we are so blessed to have him in our lives.

As a family, we are great! Work is still slow for Jer but busy season is about to start so we are just trying to soak up all the time we have together. I love having him home during the days right now. He studies the Bible almost all day and we have good discussions about the Lord, our desires, and ways we need to grow. Some mornings he goes to church to teach the kids at school their Bible class. We are still teaching the youth at church and are hoping to get to know them a bit better this year. We would like to go places with them, have them over, hang out! They are a good group of kids and we really enjoy being a part of their lives.

Israel's cousin Jude turned 1 last week and he had a birthday party at Pizza Hut. It was a lot of fun to watch him dig into his own personal cake and to reflect on how much he has grown over the past year and how fast time has went. In no time, we will be getting ready for Israel's first birthday.....I think I might cry. I see more and more everyday how he is gradually going from baby to lil boy!

Have I mentioned that I am ready for spring?? Well, I am. I don't remember EVER having a longer winter....I think they added some extra days to the calendar. I think it has to do with the fact that I don't feel like I had much of a summer with Israel being born at the beginning of the summer and me being indoors most of the time. SOOOO.....hopefully those warm spring days will come early this year!!

I guess that is all for now!! ENJOY the snow while it lasts:)

Crawling

Israel started crawling on Wednesday, January 13! It was so awesome and I was so proud....haha. He has been so close since around Christmas. It just took him a bit to get the hand movements down. He started crawling at exactly 7 months 1 week old. The next day he didn't crawl much but on Friday he was following me around the kitchen and has been perfecting his skills since.

Jeremiah was a little disappointed that he was gone when he took his first crawls but I was actually able to get it on video. Jer was gone 2.5 hours away for work all last week so at least I was able to send him the video clip:)

I have been much more busy as this guy wants to get into everything. So far he has pulled off some stripping in the kitchen, opened cabinets, pulled cords, crawled under tables, made a mess in the dog bowl (yuck), bonked his head, and tried to eat a piece of loose carpet. He is VERY curious and will cry and kick his legs when I remove him from an unwanted situation.

It truly is amazing how much babies accomplish in their first couple of years of life.....God is so smart:)

Well, gonna watch the COLTS with my hubby.....GO HORSE!!

A better version of me............

Last evening I was thinking about my life and how I want to be better. Lately, I have felt like a failure in so many areas. One area in particular is the organization area that I posted on a few months ago. I want to be a better housewife, a better mom, a better friend, a better Christian. I want to be more creative, I want to discover the gifts God has given me and to USE them! I want to have order in my home. I tend to get inspired by other people and how they do things in their homes or in their lives then I try and implement them into our lives. Then most of the things that I get excited about, I don't stick with......then I feel like a failure. I was thinking about all of this and it was like the Lord was showing me that I am not looking to Him to discover how He wants me to be a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, and a better Christian. I have been attempting to imitate others instead of imitating Christ. I have been doing these things in my own strength instead of by the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe the Lord gave me this poem as a reflection of what He was showing me.

I want to be better
A better version of me,
With every attempt comes failure
Trying to be
Not wanting to be
Unable to change
All my efforts are wasted
Until I remember.......................
To be a better version of me,
Is through Christ who strengthens me!

7 months

Israel turned 7 months on Wednesday! He is such a good baby. He has always slept great at night but for a while I had a little trouble with his naps.....but now he is to the point that when I lay him down on his belly for naps he snuggles into the bed, gives me a tiny grin, and doesn't make a peep as I walk out the door telling him "night, night". It truly is precious.

Well, this past month Israel has made a huge progression in his efforts to crawl. Starting a week after his six month birthday, he started getting up on all fours and rocking slightly and would push himself along the floor on his belly using his feet. Then he started getting up in a push-up position and walking his feet toward his hands then coming down unto his knees so he is on all fours. Then he started getting on all fours then falling forward on his belly....doing this continually until he gets to his desired location.....a sort of caterpillar crawl. Now he is starting to pick up his hands every once in a while so I think he will be crawling in another week or so.....then again it could be any day now!

He seems to be trying to communicate with us more and more. And will have pretend coversations with us if we give him time to respond when we talk to him. He does this funny thing with his daddy that if he isn't looking at him then Israel will look at him and go "Eh" until he looks at him. It sounds like he is saying "Hey". It is funny because I think I say that a lot to him to try and get his attention.....haha!

As of now he has eaten bananas, peas, sweet potatoes, prunes, oatmeal, avocados, mixed fruit yogurt, and turkey. His fav's are bananas, peas, sweet pot, and prunes.....he gets excited and kicks his legs with his mouth wide open!! He is not too fond of the turkey but he will eat it. And he really only likes the oatmeal when I mix in a fruit or veggie.

He can stand for a little bit while leaning against the couch or the toy box.....I, of course have to get him up on his feet but he seems to like standing over his toybox where he can grab toys and throw them on the floor. Lately, he has made small efforts to pull himself up using the table.....but no success as of yet. This guy wants to get into everything....he is very curious and loves to explore!!!

My dad got him a toy for Christmas that he loves. It has blocks and plays music and bins he can open and close. He loves taking the blocks in and out of the bins and making it play music. Oh, and he starts dancing whenever he hears music.....so cute!!!

Sorry, this wasn't very organized.....Just trying to remember all that has transpired over this last month with my lil guy.....he is doing new things everyday so it is hard to get it all down!! He is such a joy!

6 months

Yesterday Israel turned 6 months....such a big boy! Last Thursday he went to his 6 mo check-up. He weighed 19.2 lbs (50-75%), 28.5 inches long (95%), and his head circumference was 17 inches (25%). He had to get poked twice and then they gave him an oral vaccine.

This was the first time that he seemed to have a slight reaction to his vaccinations. The next morning his leg was a little swollen where the shots were given and he was really fussy all day. I had to hold him for all of his naps....although I was sad that he was not feeling well, I have to admit that I enjoyed the cuddle time. He is typically not much of a cuddler. When he is tired he does better if I just lay him down, otherwise he will be distracted by his surroundings and it takes him longer to fall asleep.

Israel can now sit up all by himself. I still put pillows behind him because he doesn't know how to get out of a sitting position very easily. He is all over the place still with his rolling from point A to point B to C, etc. He loves toys and can focus on playing with one toy for quite some time.

I am loving being a mommy, it is the greatest! Israel is such a joy!

I can feel a tooth!

oh my! last Wednesday I felt a swollen lump where Israel's bottom right tooth is and last night when he was violently munching on my wrist I felt a little sharp thing poking me. I am not sure if it has actually broke skin yet but it sure feels like it. The only symptom he has had is shorter naps. I can't believe he is getting his first tooth....he is growing so fast.....already 5.5 months...yikes! I am sure the other one will be coming in soon.

He is one active little guy with the way he rolls around the room. He is getting pretty good at sitting alone, he can sit unsupported and alone for approx 5 minutes as long as he is not tired or in a new surrounding where he would rather observe things. He still topples over so I keep pillows nearby to soften his falls. He is talking much more, saying dada, mama, baba and other random squeals and babbles....how fun!! I love him so!!

Jer and I are stilling teaching 1 John to the youth group kids....what an amazing book that forces you to examine yourself and walk with the Lord. My prayer is that the kids would grow in their relationships with the Lord through this study. I have had some really sweet times with the Lord lately and he is challenging me to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and what He would have me do.

God Bless!