Thankful Thursday

Thursday, June 27, 2013 1 comment
Ya'll I just have to post and give some major shout and praise to our amazing Heavenly Father and all that He is doing in my sweet friend's life and her husband's life. I met Kendra through the blog world :-) She lives in the Midwest and I am in the South, but honestly distance has not kept us from becoming really good friends and as I call her she is my sister from another mister, Ha!!! Seriously though, I just love her to pieces and am so thankful the Lord crossed our paths. I have enjoyed watching the Lord work in her life over the last 6 months and it would do your heart well to check out her blog here and read for yourself how God has been blessing she and her hubby's socks off :-) I have had the honor of praying for her and watching God answer those prayers in BIG ways!!! Now I can't wait to see what He does next for these two amazing people!! Don't ya just love my little prayer card I made for myself for praying for them? I totally hijacked this picture from Facebook a few weeks ago and enhanced it some, lol
 
 
While I'm praising the Lord, let me just shout PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM for bringing me through yet another quarter of school!! 2 quarters down, only 4 more to go!!! The best part is I am not officially done with all things that start with the word Anatomy, lol Seriously 6 months of Anatomy I and II was enough to make me pull my hair out. When I went to Haiti in May I knew I would be adding a lot of pressure to myself when I came home because I would come home right in time for finals, but I knew God was calling me to go, so there was no way I was going to not go. I went in my last Anatomy final with a big failing grade but because I serve an amazing God that is way bigger than any class or test I ended up passing my final with a 90% and passed all my classes!!! Now to breath for 10 days or so before starting back at it again. At least I won't have to look at anymore binders full of Anatomy pictures, lol


 This week Noah is participating in two VBS's, one in the morning and one in the evening. It has been so much fun watching him learn about Jesus and I have loved the conversations we have been having on the drives home about what he is learning. Noah LOVES putting Isaiah to bed at night. He actually thinks it is his job, lol so I just go with it. The first night I picked him up from VBS he asked me if Isaiah was still awake at home and I told him no, that I had put him to bed before I came to get him. He looked at me so serious and said "but mom, he needs me to put him to bed and tuck him in" Seriously, melt this momma's heart. When we got home that night at 9:30 I told Noah to quietly go in his room and get ready for bed (the boys share a room now, per Noah's request, lol) I heard Noah talking and I walked in to see this. He was laying in the rocking chair next to Isaiah's crib, holding his hand and was telling him all about his night at VBS and asking about his night. Apparently Isaiah was still awake when we got home :-) I tell ya, these two just constantly pull at my heart with the bond they share. Only God!!

 
Lastly, I am SO THANKFUL for this little reminder I saw on Instagram today. My mind is sometimes a very scary place, lol with all my thoughts, fears, hopes, dreams and throw in some anxiety and there are days where it is a perfect recipe for disaster, Ha!! Yes, far from what some believe this girl is a hot mess on the inside and I am just so thankful for my Jesus who loves me anyway and is a constant in my life and is always reminding me in His ways that everything WILL be okay, to just continue trusting in Him and His timing. Clinging to Him right now during a season that has brought on A LOT of anxiety in me that I am fighting daily to push away and replace with truth. Would love it if ya'll would pray for me.  
 
 
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
1 Peter 5:7

Someone Had A Birthday!!!

Friday, June 14, 2013 No comments
My sweet Isaiah turned 2 this past Monday!! I'm still trying to figure out where that year went :-) I'm having his party in a couple of weeks so for his actual birthday we went to his all time favorite place to eat, CooCoo aka Chick-Fil-A and celebrated there with my mom, sister, niece, nephews and my sweet friend and her kiddos. A friend of mine made his cake. She is great at taking my crazy ideas and turning them into an awesome cake!! I especially love how she put an I and Z block on the bottom because that is what I call him sometimes, my little IZ :-) His face was priceless when he saw his cake. To say he is a fan of Elmo is the understatement of the year, lol He is obsessed!!! Everything is ELMO!!! Rumor has it a real live Elmo will be making a guest appearance at his party :-) I told my friends who are coming either their kids will have a blast or need therapy, depending on their love for characters in costume, Ha!!!
 
 
 
Isaiah,
 
I can't believe you are 2 already!! It was just 14 months ago we were stepping off the plane after our long journey home. I stay amazed to see what God has done this last year, and am so thankful He chose me to be your mommy. You bring me more joy than I ever thought possible and I honestly have a hard time remembering life without you in it. It feels like you have always been here. I absolutely LOVE watching you and Noah together. For 18 months as I waited to bring you home I prayed that the two of you would have a strong relationship. God answered those prayers BIG time. The two of you are almost inseparable. When you wake up in the morning you stand in your crib and holler for "momma" and "bubba" You are definitely Noah's shadow and you look at him as your keeper. Noah is so sweet with you, always wanting to teach you things and you just look at him as though you are hanging on to every word. You want to do EVERYTHING he does!! You currently love everything baseball, because Noah is playing baseball. The two of you are just so sweet and it makes my heart swell to see the bond you two share. I am blessed beyond words by you two.

 
Some fun fact about you right now:
 
About 6 weeks ago you had tubes put in your ears. Since coming home you had struggled with constant ear infections and fluid in your ears. Not only were you on antibiotics too many times for my liking (the nurse coming out in me, lol) but the constant fluid was causing you a lot of balance problems, as well as stunting your speech. Your vocabulary consisted of about 3 words and when you did try to speak you sounded like you were under water. They tested your hearing before the surgery and they actually had to put the volume as high as it would go for you to even hear it. It made me that much more anxious to see how you would be after the tubes were put in. The surgery itself lasted all of about 12 minutes!! You did great and the tubes quickly got rid of all that nasty fluid :-) the only bad part was watching you come out of the anesthesia!! You were so pitiful and were not yourself AT ALL!!!! You spent the next 2 hours screaming uncontrollably. We came home and you took about a 3 hour nap, and woke up your happy, smiling self :-) The best part is now 6 weeks later you are talking up a storm!!!! You are still working on putting words with your thoughts. You get really excited sometimes and start trying to tell me something and than end up doing hand gestures to go along with what you are trying to tell me. It is seriously so cute :-)
 
You LOVE Elmo, ALL things Elmo :-) You have a specific Elmo you sleep with along with your taggy that I took to Ethiopia for you when I traveled to bring you home. You have to have those two things to go to sleep. Your sleeping Elmo as I call it is really cute, you push it's belly and it says "Elmo so sleepy" and now you have started saying that when I lay you down. It is so cute!! You also love playing with cars, ball, and you LOVE to be read to. You could sit for hours and read book after book. You enjoy being outside. For your birthday you got a water table and you absolutely love it. I'm anxious to take you swimming this summer. You love the water :-)
 
You go for your 2yr check up in a couple of weeks. At your 18 month check up where you were actually 20 months old, lol
  •  you weighed 22 pound 13 ounces and were 31 1/2 inches long. You are still playing catch up but you are healthy and that is all I am worried about.
  • You wear a size 6 shoe and your clothes range from a size 2T-3T depending on the brand.
  • You are a very good eater when it comes to fruits and veggies but you are not a fan of most meat and dairy. You love yogurt but hate cheese, cottage cheese and it is sometimes a struggle to get you to drink milk. When it comes to meat that is at times a bigger struggle. Needless to say you get your protein from other sources :-) You are my little plant based eater, lol
  • You love having your picture taken, especially when Mommy will turn the camera part on my phone around and you can see yourself as we take pictures. You think that is so funny :-) Your smile lights up any room!!
  • You have recently started acting interested in the big potty!! This brings your momma much excitement, lol but I am not holding my breath. You have sat on the potty a few times but I am not pushing you. You are very smart and recognize when you need your diaper changed, so here is hoping that leads to some summer time potty training :-)
  • Music is one of your favorite things. Your favorite song of all time is "Me Without You" by Toby Mac!! No matter what you are doing, if that song comes on you stop and start dancing! A few months ago the group For King and Country came to our church to perform and you had such a fun time. You stood out in the middle of the aisle with your hands in the air, dancing along to the music. I love seeing you worship in your own little way!!
Isaiah you are such a joy! You have come so far since coming home last year and I will never stop praising the Lord for your life and what He has done!! Your life is a story of Redemption, God's Love and Grace, and Restoration. I look forward to watching how God uses you and your brother for His Kingdom.
 
 "But now, this is what the Lord says
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine"
Isaiah 43:1
 
I love you to the moon and back my sweet IZ!! Happy Birthday!!
Love, Mommy