Survivor!

I'm at the Winner's Table!

Dad and Joshua are enjoying themselves too!

Before all of the Christmas Parties and traveling began, the three of us got to spend a wonderful night at the Mingee's for a Survivor Party. It was so much fun and such a needed break from the normal. I myself was a winner after choosing the sole survivor this season- so I enjoyed a steak, baked potato, salad, and the best sweet tea I've tasted in years! Jeremy enjoyed the spread of foods with the rest of the crowd and Joshua just enjoyed being held by new people. He loves new people!

Today I find myself with an empty suitcase, three loads of laundry, and a car to pack before we go to church tonight! Here is to a busy day that will end with great times with family, celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Fun Friday!

3 Random things:

My sister Lisa made all of our siblings into elfs. Check us out here.

We just got back last week from Jeremy's InterVarsity Regional meeting at Rockbridge. It was our first big trip with baby Joshua- 4 days, 3 nights, and a carload of baby stuff! Good news- we survived!

I got my hair chopped off a few nights ago. I'll add a picture later- but the pile of hair on the floor looked like Cousin It.

Children

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward." Psalm 127:3 This is truth.

Friday night Fun!

This is a fun picture I found of Jeremy and I while I was browsing through old photo's tonight. We had only been married a month and we headed to Smith Mountain Lake for my birthday weekend with family. It was fun relaxing on the lake- and enjoying my brothers great passion for noodling. We had no idea that we would be parents 13 months later . . . . . God always has great plans for us!

Opps

So, the link doesn't work below, try this.

Christmas Shopping?

So, I know most people are super organized and have already made lists for shopping. They have made a spreadsheet with the holiday budget and have created columns for wrapping and cards sent. "They" actually are few and far between. Anyone like me- I am just realizing that Christmas is less than a month away . . . hmmmm.

I do have my Christmas tree up! Jeremy and I invested in a fake one from Target this year. The past few years I have loved the smell of a fresh tree in my home, but with little Joshua and planning for future additions to the family, an artificial tree seemed the best choice (and a good way to save a bit of money each year).

Enough about Christmas, I'm addicted to this site by FlyLady. Check it out. It is hillarious- I joined and I'm loving it.

Also, here is a cute picture of Joshua . . .

Scrabble

Jeremy and I love to play board games and cards. We spent a good deal of our dating relationship playing games together and with other people. Scrabble is one of our favorites- Jeremy wins most of the time, but I can say that every once in a blue moon I win.

Since getting married and having Joshua, we have not been able to play as often as before. There are some couples that also love games near by and we have an occasional dinner and game night. Those are the best!

A few days ago, when Joshua was napping, we broke out the Scrabble board. It was so nice to sit and play with Jeremy- I was loving it! The funny part is that I was too tired to finish that night, so we had to make it a 2 day Scrabble game. Jeremy won- big time. I'm a bit rusty!

So, I encourage you all to turn off the TV, put the computer away, lay down your book, and play a board game! Play with your family, your friends, and enjoy! They even have the Scrabble Dictionary on-line here. This is for those of you who play by the rules!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, plan on dusting off the old board games and having some good old fashioned fun!

Reading

I love to read, and I can read fast! When the "Harry Potter" craze came out, I waited until the 4th book was released before I started- and I read the first 4 in about 3 weeks.

Reading is important to Jeremy and I both. He finds himself reading constantly now. He has his leisure reading (which is usually pretty heavy reading) and now his work reading. Right now he is reading J.I. Packer's Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God to research for a paper he is writing on Evangelism. I'm pretty sure he has read it before, and I read it a few years back when I was on staff with IV. I don't have as much time to read as I used to, but I'm finding bits of time here and there.

We want reading to be a big part of Joshua's life too. His Grandma G has given him lots of books for us to read to him, and one of my baby showers was a "childhood book" theme. Joshua has a mini-library started. I try to read to him every day. This past week, he has really started to watch me and the pages and it is exciting!

This picture we took last week. We like to say that Joshua started with a little "light" reading. I need to read the book first- can't be beat out by my 11 week old yet! So, what are YOU reading?

November?

Is it November already? Didn't someone invent a way to slow down time in order to catch up on life? No? Okay, then that was one of my crazy dreams that I have. Here is an interesting conversation on a blog to check out- a good friend showed me last night. It should get your blood pumping.

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/reactions-to-the-60-minutes-joel-osteen-piece#comment-145962

"You'll be lucky to get a shower!"

This is what I had heard while I was pregnant- and it really scared me! Let me explain: I LOVE SHOWERS! I am a morning person, I can wake up at 5am and as long as I get my hot shower I am good for the day. The shower is a special place for me- to wake up, and relax under the hot steam!

So many moms told me that I would be lucky to get a shower when the baby came. I was preparing for this loss, until having a few more conversations with other moms. "I just put him in his bouncy chair, put him by the bathroom door where I can see, and take a shower while he naps." Amazing! That is- if your baby will nap!

I must admit- I was spoiled the first two weeks after birth- Jeremy was home for a while and could watch Joshua while I showered and family was around for another week, giving me opportunities to take nice long morning showers! But, I had to venture out on my own when my help was gone- and try showers with Joshua a few feet away, passed out in the bouncy chair. To my great joy it works! It still does! Joshua takes his first morning nap while I shower and wake up for the day. Am I spoiled? I think so! I think I have only gone 2 days since delivery day without a shower. . . must be a world record! Like I said before- I LOVE SHOWERS! So, be encouraged! If you have a napping baby and a bouncy chair- it can happen for you too!

Family Photo

A few weeks ago, a friend from church took some family shots of Jeremy, Joshua, and I at the Lion's Bridge near our apartment. This was also where Jeremy proposed to me, so it was great to be back there with him and our son. We had a lot of fun, and the pictures turned out fantastic.

I've spent a lot of time thinking lately about us as a family, how quickly Joshua is growing up, and how much we are changing as a family. God has been doing some amazing things in both of us as parents and I really need to find time to slow down, reflect on what God is doing, and thank Him.

We really do have so much to be thankful for, and it is all because of what God has given us. All the glory to Him for what He is doing and will do in our family.

Sick Baby

I didn't know how upset I would be when Joshua got sick for the first time. I had no idea I would cry more than he did- seriously! Many of you know he got sick last week and I was so upset about it- really struggling with thinking that I was a terrible mom (even though I knew this was a lie). How could I let me son get sick so early on? - As if I had control over it!

Joshua had a fever for about a week, and had to have several tests done to make sure nothing was seriously wrong with him. The great news is that everything came back great- and he is over his fever- and as cute as ever. The unexpected news is that I realized how helpless I felt while he was sick. He can't tell me anything yet- what is hurting, why he is crying, what he needs. He is completely depending on Jeremy and I for his needs (and what he wants when he gets older).

This reminds me of my relationship with God- I am completely dependent on God for my needs.The difference is that He knows exactly what I need and when I need it. Even better, God knows Joshua's every need and will provide for both of us. I am looking forward to all the new ways God will reveal himself to me in parenthood.

Death of a Cell Phone

I'm not quite sure why I tried to tuck my cell phone into the shoulder strap of my shirt while leaning over to clean the tub. The water was already on, filling up quickly. The sponge was in one hand and I needed my other hand to grip the tub while I scrubbed. My only problem was that free hand was not free at all, it was clutching my cell phone (You know, in case someone called I would have it right with me- I know, crazy). So, thinking it was a great idea, (I have done this often these days to carry my phone while transporting Joshua from room to room) I tucked it under my shirt strap and leaned over to start scrubbing. Plop! Death of a Cell Phone.

It didn't happen fast. No, it happened slow, teasing me. At first it was still working, so I wiped it off and set it aside to dry. I finished cleaning the tub. When I picked it up- the screen was black! But, the buttons still lit up. When Jeremy got home that night, he even got it to call his phone- I could live without a phone screen for a while. As tragic as it was, this morning, the cell phone was no more. No more screen. No more buttons lighting up. No more calls going out or coming in.

How attached am I to my cell phone? So much so that I almost had a panic attack when realizing it was gone. Not really, but I am realizing how attached to technology I am. Maybe I need a vacation?

GREAT resource for new mommies

So, after the advice of a nurse and several other "moms", Jeremy and I ordered "Happiest Baby on the Block". This is a DVD that gives parents tips on calming crying babies and helping new babies sleep longer through the night. I must say as we were watching we kept looking at each other saying "no way!- lets wake Joshua up and try this now!". We were very impressed.

Of course, we did not wake Joshua up. However, when he did wake up fussy, we used the techniques from the video and were amazed to know they worked!

I must recommend this video for ALL new moms- so if you are one, or know one, please get this video! It helped us tremendously with getting Joshua to sleep longer at night- even just putting him down in the beginning. I cannot stress enough how it helped us and Joshua . . . so please get it and watch it soon!

There is also "Happiest Toddler on the Block" that we plan to purchase when Joshua gets older!

For the Love of Sleep!

As you can imagine, sleep is something you don't get very much of as a new mom- or dad! I was running on adrenaline for the first few weeks home with Joshua. Every moment I was watching him, excited about him, thanking God for him. However, this is not good if you forget to REST- sleep while the baby sleeps- recover from delivery- relax your body and mind. All of these I forgot to do much of the first two weeks home.

So, after a good talk with Jeremy (several of them), some good talks with great friends, and lots of crying- I learned that sleep deprivation is my enemy. For the first time in a month, this week I slept at least 6 hours at night and Jeremy took care of Joshua.

The not so fun part of this for me is pumping breast milk for Jeremy to give Joshua at night. Forgive me for getting so personal, but it is almost humorous to find yourself in a position similar to a cow. I know I'll get used to it . . . but for now and for the love of sleep- I'll do it!

Labor and Delivery

On August 27th I experienced first hand the journey of labor and delivery. I gave birth to my first son, Joshua. Nothing could have prepared me for this amazing time. Yes, it was painful, and yes, I would do it again. With no epidural and no pain medicine, I called out "the Lord is my strength" during contractions and the Lord really was my strength to make it through. Seeing my son for the first time after carrying him for nine months made me speechless. Jeremy and I are both in awe of the life that was created in me.

One of my favorite passages in scripture is Psalm 139. It is a psalm of David and it speaks to Gods personal knowledge of us and how He created us. Verse 13 says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." This took on a whole new meaning during my pregnancy and it encourages me to know that God created Joshua and what a gift he is to Jeremy and I. We are both excited about what God is going to be showing us and doing through our growing family!