tonight...

Tonight I was lying in bed with Nathan. The lights were out and we were looking at his glow in the dark stars. It was quiet for a long time so I asked him what he was thinking about.
"God"
"What are you thinking about God?"
"God is with me."
Amen and amen.

Plastic knives and cars...

About two weeks ago Nathan I were playing on the floor in the kitchen with a box of plastic knives and race cars. Endless possibilities. I was feeling sick. I mean take one moment at a time kind of sick. I didn't think Nathan was noticing me since we were so busy. He went to his bed room to get another race car and on the way back to the kitchen I heard him mumbling and saying my name. He rounded the corner to the kitchen with his hands folded together. I asked him what he was doing. "Praying, mom." I asked him what he was praying for. "I'm praying for you, mom."

I am so thankful for God's presence in his life and in mine.

He is TWO!

Two years ago we were staring down at an amazing creation. We had no idea how sweet and silly he was going to be. We had no idea he was going to love trucks and trains. We had no idea how much sleep we were going to lose or how much we would worry. We certainly had no idea how much he was going to change our whole lives. We had no idea how much we could love someone. 

A little birthday prayer...

Thank you God for the amazing privilege of being Nathan's mom. Thank you for helping me understand how much you love and delight in me because of the way I feel about Nathan. I pray he will continue to grow in knowledge and love of you. Amen.

Happy Birthday sweet boy!

23 months...

Dear Nathan,
I've noticed something about you.You are an encourager. You tell other kids you play with and your mom and dad, "good job" and "nice work." Most of the time you are the only kid who stops and pays attention to what your friends are doing. Tonight at church you told a little boy "good job" twice when he went down the slide! When I dress up you tell me, "nice dress", "I like your hair", "I like your eyes." When Daisy's bowl is empty you never hesitate to fill it up with some food and then you tell her to "come Daisy." You notice things, little things, and you care about your world. I am so thankful for that and I pray your gift of encouragement grows and grows.
I love you. ~Mom

22 months...

Have I mentioned that every month with Nathan has been my favorite?
He is really amazing. Here are some of the amazing things he does...
When he wakes up we ease into the morning together usually with Bob the Builder. He can sing the song.
He LOVES bulldozers. He says bulldozer at least 100 times a day.
He knows his trucks. He lines them up and says, "this tractor, this bulldozer, this dump truck, this trash truck, this big hook (tow truck), this flat bed."
He plays with his trucks for LONG periods of time. He fills them with sand or rocks.
He really likes riding his John-Deere tractor in the back yard. He is getting good at steering it.
He LOVES ice cream and calls it meh-meh.
Whenever he counts he starts with 8-9-10.
He is really good at basketball and loves to play "my ball."
He blesses me every time I sneeze or cough.
The other day we spilled some blueberries on the floor and he ran to get the mop.
He gives hugs and kisses without asking.
When he says thanks it sounds like "shoot." "Shoot mama, shoot." Love it!
He amazes us with his vocabulary everyday. Today he pointed to a dragonfly and said, "This is a dragonfly!"
Yesterday he looked at me and said with a big smile, "I'm the best!" He has a healthy self-esteem.
He is a great kid.

Thankful...

 I feel like God has been changing me lately. Most recently He has used my Bible study at church and the dairy farm by our house to help shape me. I love working in the barn feeding the calves. I love the smell of the milk and the hay. Most importantly I love talking with farmer John and Calvin. I could listen to their stories all day long. I feel so thankful so much of the time now and my heart is often filled with so much joy it feels like it is going to burst. The reality of my salvation and all that it entails is sometimes so real and overwhelming to me. I love learning with the women at my church. They are so wise and it is truly a privilege to study the Bible with them. It is all the little things- sitting at the park with Nathan today beside a stream, visiting with Jeremiah at lunch, reading Genesis at nap time, the super blue sky, Nathan telling me "I loo loo too mama" (I love you too mama), visiting with neighbors in the evening, and finally getting to rest at night. I am thankful for life and I am thankful that nothing can separate me from Jesus.

Changing...

 Nathan has been growing and changing so fast over this last month. His vocabulary amazes me every day. He is always telling us to "looook" and often says, "I don't know" with his shoulders shrugged. He tells me to "wait" and says, " no like", "like that", "uh-huh right", and so many other fun things! I am amazed at God as I watch him grow. He also LOVES other kids these days. When I take him to his class he is always hugging, tickling, and rolling on his playmates. He is a joy.

This picture was taken last month- look how tall he is! I'll post recent pictures as soon as I figure how to get them off my new phone...

Two words!

Big trucks, mama please, bye mama, hi dada! Nathan is saying two words at a time! It all started a few days ago...SO COOL!

p.s. tonight he said, "scooze me mama" -which is techinally 3 words...

The last two weeks in no particular order...

We had fun waiting for the train to come through town...

Nathan got an awesome new table and had a fun play date with Emily. He took her to the farm and then they played ball.

Jeremiah and I had a date night at Keeneland on the 18th. We got Fazoli's and sat at the empty track to watch the sunset. It was beautiful.

We spent the weekend before Valentine's Day at my parent's house. Here we are at the park where I used to play. I think Nathan sees a bird.  

Walking home from the park...smile buddy!

We had a fun visit from Nana and Pops last weekend 2/20.

Nathan has pestered Daisy to death...

We've played hide and seek...

and played in the car after story time...

                                           Tomorrow Nathan will be 19 months old!!!

Sometimes experience is the best teacher...

sometimes it's not.

little things I like...

Here are a few products I've enjoyed recently...
1. Batter Blaster. You can make pancakes super fast because the batter squirts out the the can like easy cheese-only thicker. I think they taste great. You can get it at Kroger-and for you earthy folks- it's organic!  http://www.batterblaster.com/

2. No7 make up from Target. Hypoallergenic and super easy to take off. My eyes are super sensitive and this stuff does not irritate them at all. The blush moisturizes my cheeks. Very impressed. http://www.us.boots.com/BrandNo7/

3. Tervis Tumblers. I love these cups. At first I thought they were just for old(er) people who live in Flordia (sorry Ninny and Popa), but I was wrong. These things are awesome. They are insulated, they don't sweat, you can drink hot or cold beverages in them, you can put a lid on them so you can take your tea in the car. They each come with a different little patch in them- I know not super classy- think whimsical and laid back- so you can tell whose glass is whose. Helpful for company. My patches are flip flops, a frog, a butterfly, a parrot, etc...
http://www.tervis.com


I know, a really random post, but I am trying to take my mind off the fact that Jeremiah is putting Nathan to bed tonight. I've been the one to put him down to bed for the last 18 months and now we are seeing if reading stories with dad will be enough to get him to go down. It's funny, I've been wanting to see if Jeremiah could get him down for some time- but now that he is in there with him, I am secretly hoping it won't work. Even though I look forward to Nathan going to bed, I already miss him and can't wait to get him in the morning. Thank you God for my sweet family!

Three big babies!!!

Our neighbors are dairy farmers for Flav-O-Rich. Three of their cows just had babies! Aren't they cute? When it is warm we go to the farm all the time. Sunday it was 42 degrees- warm enough for a visit!

Here are some pics...

It's raining, it's pouring...

and we are playing, playing, playing!
Here's how we are enjoying the rainy depressing weather...

Bubbles at the library!

A cool puzzle with a fire truck!

Time to play at Gymboree!

Wanna swing?

I pay how much a month and you only want to play in the water fountain!?!

18 months...

Today Nathan is 18 months old! We are richly blessed by his little life.

Here are some of his favorite things...

Foods: noodles- which he calls noodle-oodle-oodles, sweet potatoes- the only real vegetable he eats, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, spicy salsa and chips, eggs, peanut butter and jelly, pears, oranges, candy- which he calls needleneedlenee and his all time favorite- frozen blueberries!

T.V. shows: Thomas, Kipper, and Elmo a.k.a "La La"

Activities: playing in the car when we get home from anywhere, watching for and seeing trains, reading books, going to Gymboree, pushing things around the kitchen, playing drums on bowls in the kitchen, he loves to be outside, loves to "play" basketball, go to the farm and feed the goat and see the cows, play with the kids on the street, jump in his bed, roll around with Daisy, loves to chew on our toothbrushes- don't know why, he is learning to like playdoh and to color, he loves trucks, tractors, music, dancing, being swung by a kitchen towel (totally safe), and baths.

Songs: Cedermont Kids video esp. the song I'm in the Lords Army, Silent Night, Joy to the World, and Wheels on the Bus.

Green beans and other randomness...

The other night, to get Nathan to eat his green beans, I bribed him with a peppermint patty. It worked. I am not sure if I won or lost that battle. Maybe both. I really don't know what I am doing. There are so many times during the day I wish someone would pop in and tell me, "you just made the right decision" or "no, don't do that, do this instead." For (another) example, I should not be allowed to buy vegetables at the grocery. Here is a picture of some potatoes growing in my pantry. When I am at the grocery I always imagine great dinners I am going to make when I get home. I know- make a list, right? I do! But then I get all these ideas of other things I can make. I come home, put things in the pantry for a few months and voila, my potatoes grow these neat flower things. If vegetables are not frozen or in cans, they will rot in my house. Right now, Nathan has a fever and he is really fussy. I think it is all from his teeth coming in. He walks around with his whole hand in his mouth and he hasn't had an appetite all day. We brought the T.V. into the living room and let him watch Thomas all day. Hopefully we will make it peacefully through the night. Nope, I just got up to help him get settled. He is so uncomfortable. Hopefully the ibuprofen will help. For some reason it gives him really bad gas. I am thankful to God for helping us through each moment, for random hugs and kisses from Nathan, even for Thomas the tank engine who never learns how to just settle down and do his job, oh, and for my sweet (most of the time) husband who is just awesome. Here he is sleeping in a polka dot blanket- he he. Okay, time for bed...

  

Tired

We are all tired. Jeremiah has been working a contract job on top of his real job for a few months now. I've been parenting solo quite a bit. Even though the end is in sight, we are headed toward the finish line very slowly. This weekend we were refreshed briefly by our trip to Virginia to see Jeremiah's parents. It was very peaceful and the company and the food were great. I got to sleep in late two days in a row(!) and Nathan had much needed time with his daddy. This psalm (in parts) has been on my heart as we continue to press on...

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. -and- Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed with in me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. -Psalm 42:1-2 and 5.  

Today

I stayed in my crazy pj's and my Christmas theme socks. Nathan and I played, read books, watched cartoons and then made pizza with Jeremiah. It doesn't escape me that so many people are going through extremely hard times right now. I try to enjoy my family with as much humility and thankfulness as I can remember to have.

Here are some pictures of my little chef...

Oh yeah- yesterday, for some reason, I graduated from mama to mommy. I like it! Also, Nathan has peed in the potty twice now. Once yesterday and once today!

WHO

So many of my daydreams are consumed with wondering about what is next for us in this life. Where will we be? What will we be doing? Yesterday, I was having such a daydream when I kept hearing the word "WHO" in my brain. Over and over again. Then, in a moment, my perspective changed. WHO will I love next? WHO will I serve next? WHO will I get to show God's compassion to? WHO's next?


                             And just for fun, here is a cute picture of Nathan...