Mother's Day

Well, here is a picture from my first mother's day!!!! Grace has started this silly Elmer Fud smile, and its gotten worse since she's had a tooth come in. So cheesy. But it always makes me laugh! It was a great day! Adam did his best to make it so that I didn't have to lift a finger which was so nice. He even changed the dirty diapers! :) He ran a hot bath for me that night after we put Grace to bed. I got to relax and read Dr. James Dobson's new book "Bringing up Girls". I'm only a chapter in but I'm already loving it. We have a huge responsibility to guide this little girl. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the task because I know her little heart is going to be so fragile. I just want to protect her from this world and the lies little girls are told a/b who they should be. It's definately been challenging me to learn to live the things I want Grace to immitate. Everyday, Lord, please give me the words to fill her heart with true confidence in who YOU created her to be!


My favorite thing Grace is doing right now is giving kisses! She is still not a cuddler....but she totally understands "kisses"! She loves to kiss this dog, her babies, and her glow worm! And if we are lucky, mommy and daddy get one every now and then!


Just wanted to share some pictures of our sweet girl! I will update with beach pictures soon! She's going to be so cute with all those rolls in her little swimsuit!

A few things I forgot

So, I forgot to mention a few things in my post the other day.

(1) This is my favorite picture from our Easter trip to Austin. Clarke (my nephew) loves his "Gracie Beff". And she loves him too. She can't take her eyes off of him when he's around. He's always busy...which is very entertaining. She is usually a very talkative girl, but its hard to get anything out of her when she is watching him. It's pretty funny. Just wanted to share this one because its so sweet. I can't wait until they can finally play together!

(2) Proud moment!!! Grace had her first Sunday in the church nursery this week! We have been visiting Fellowship Bible Church in Conway, which we are really enjoying. But are still praying about where the Lord would have us. (Please pray for wisdom if you think a/b us.) Anyway, I dropped her off, acting as unemotional as I could. After 6 months of being in the nursing mothers room, I was ready to sit in a service without distraction, but at the same time knew I would think a/b her the whole time. My sweet friend Casey checked on her and told me she was "happy and as content as could be" which gave me a huge relief and I actually could enjoy the sermon. When I picked her up, all the nursery girls went on and on a/b what a happy girl she is! And what a fun smile she has. Why was I EVER worried???

6 month update

Gracie will be 6 months tomorrow!!! I can't believe it has been half a year since our beautiful girl entered this world. Adam and I were laying in bed last night talking about her personality and all the things we think she will do when she grows up. He was very sad when I said I didn't know if she would enjoy golfing with him because she is very talkative and busy. I must admit I am giggling as I picture him taking her out and trying to get her to sit still and be quiet while the other men are golfing. We shall see! Who knows, maybe she will surprise me! Here is update on all the fun things she is doing now.
~Eating all kinds of babyfood! Her favorite fruit at the moment is peaches. And her favorite vegetable is avocado. I will admit that I swore I would never make her eat something I do not eat, but I gave the sweet peas a whirl and she LOOOOVED them. I'm so proud of her for being brave. Mommy still refuses to eat them though.
~Sleeping on her tummy! This may seem like no biggy to most mommys. But its huge for me. We had a week where Grace refused to fall asleep on her belly if she rolled over in her bed. (Even though she knows how to roll back over!) I think I had to flip her back over 8 times during one nap. Luckily she has since learned that sleeping on her tummy is actually comfortable!
~Jogging! Well, not literally. But she is riding in the jogging stroller so I can. Its so nice to be able to get outside with her. She has actually been having some allergies this week so we are on hold right now, but hopefully will be out again soon.
~Sucking her thumb. I wrote in a post early on that we had a passy monster. She has changed her mind. So thankful we won't have to take it from her in the future. When she started putting herself to sleep on her own she decided she would rather have her thumb. Luckily its always there :)
Those are all big things for this month. But here are a few of my favorite things about her.
~She constantly has a smile on her face!
~She is ticklish under her chin. She makes the cutest face and shrugs her shoulders when I clean her babyfood out from under her chin after she eats. I LOVE IT.
~She sings to herself when she wakes up.
~She looks just like her daddy. This may be my favorite thing. I know I've said before how sad I was that I did all that work to get her here and she doesn't look like me. But I really do love that she looks like him. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Just a quick update to fill you all in on what Grace has been we've been up to lately! February has FLOWN by! And has been filled with tons of milestones for us! First of all...Adam is creeping closer to 30 (and not wanting to talk a/b it!)....he celebrated his 28th Birthday last Sunday. I keep telling him he's lucky to have such a young hot wife to keep him active ;)

Grace has been achieving something new every week. Everyone warned me that 4 months would be a turning point. Crazy how right they were! The first week of Feb. we got out first official "giggle" out of her! Of course it was at her daddy and not me. We were in Dallas with my family for the weekend while Jill and I got our Pilates Cert. Unfortunately she waited until the day after we returned home to find her feet and roll over!! I was sad everyone missed it! She's also getting much better at eating her cereal with a spoon. She gets so excited when she sees that hot pink spoon headed toward her mouth!

Adam is going for an allergy conference to New Orleans this weekend so Grace and I will be staying with his parents for some much needed "Meme and Pops" time for Grace. She's very excited! And then the following weekend we get to see Daniel, Jill, and Clarke again!

That's about it for us...pray for me. Grace gets more shots tomorrow. On the upside, we get to see how much shes grown since Christmas! Always fun to hear the pediatrician tell you good job and that you could nurse a small village! :) I'm so proud. Have a blessed day!

infertility

Let me preface this post with the fact that I am going to attempt to keep this from becoming a novel, but it is very hard to sum up 2 years in one paragraph. But here goes. I have several friend on my heart today that I'm burdened for as they are struggling with infertility. Having been there myself I know there really aren't any words that bring comfort or peace, just prayers. So this is what I'm praying for them today. (You know who you all are.)
(1) That God would show you today, in lots of small ways, how well he knows you, how much he loves you, and that he hears you. (Ps. 33:13-15)
(2) That your view of who God is would not be shaken by your emotions or feelings, but grounded in scripture. That you would remember he is GOOD. (Ps. 33:11; 27:13-14)
(3) That no matter what Dr. you see, drug you use, or procedure you undergo, you would remember that the Lord ALONE is the creator of life. We will be disappointed if our hope is any person or thing other than Him. (Ps. 139:13)

These are just a few things that friends prayed for me that were a constant struggle during that time but kept bringing me back to my knees. Being on the other end now, can offer a few words of encouragement? He hears your prayers. He wants you to be honest in those prayers. It took me the first year to actually be able to express to anyone other than Adam, especially the Lord, the bitterness and frustration I was feeling. And once I did, he started to change it. I so badly wanted to be content and strong...and the more I admitted I wasn't, the more He helped me to become those things. If you're waiting for healing, do not give up. Grace's life is testimony to this. When we come before His throne humbled and broken and ask for His healing on our bodies, He is willing and able! ....He very well may lead us to a Dr. or toward a procedure to help us along the way, but it all starts with His hand.

I love you all. I look forward to hearing the stories of all of your "faith babies"! (Thank you Heather K.)
Psalm 30:2 "O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me" vs.11-12 "You turned my wailing into dancing. You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to You and not be silent. O Lord my god, I will give you thanks forever."

15 weeks

First of all, apologies I haven't updated in 6 weeks. I knew that would be my problem when I started this blog, but I promise to work on it :) Second, I need to clear up the Santa controversy. We ARE going to do Santa for Grace at Christmas. I was just thinking out loud on here and apparently need to not do that. Lots of people were concerned that Grace wouldn't experience Santa. No worries. Santa as well as an elf on the shelf will make an appearance next year. Though they won't be emphasized as much as Jesus. I'm not going to worry about--as my brother pointed out, I grew up having Santa and know that Jesus is what Christmas is about and I am not scarred from finding out Santa is not real. ANYWAY....MOVING ON!

I realized I haven't been recording Grace's milestones like I would like to, so thats the goal today. So far:

5 weeks: started smiling on purpose

8 weeks: staying awake for an hour of playtime after eating

10 weeks: slept through the night for the first time (11pm to 7am)

10 weeks: moved into her nursery for naps and nighttime

11 weeks: umbilical hernia completely healed...Praise the Lord!

13 weeks: first roadtrip with mommy to see Aunt Bella in Fayetteville

14 weeks: started babbling (and hasn't stopped since!)

And here we are at 15 weeks tomorrow! Grace is so much fun! She is so silly. I was telling Adam the other night it is so fun to wake up and see her smiling and talking at the camera sitting on her bed. I have no idea how long she's been awake but she's so happy entertaining herself in the mornings. We've almost gotten a giggle out of her a few times. I can't wait for a real one! She babbles and coos all the time, especially when she's trying to go to sleep. We've caught her on video a few times. She's definitely a mamas girl right now. She loves playing with daddy, but sometimes refuses to eat and sleep for him. (Although I keep telling him its b/c she barely protests and he won't try very hard to make her do anything she doesn't want to.)

I am looking forward to starting cereal in a couple of weeks, although it makes me sad she will be old enough to eat out of a bowl...with a spoon...sitting up. Where does the time go?

That's all for today, I hear her yelling "mommy" from her crib! (i wish).

And here we are

And here we are

Christmas update...

Our little cheerleader would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I can't believe its almost been a month since I last posted. We are staying so busy. Time flies when you're having fun right? Grace has grown so much! We go Monday for her 8 week appointment, even though she turned 9 weeks yesterday. Don't know how that happened! Anyway, I'm anxious to see how much she weighs now. She is such a joy. Her little personality is starting to show. She is the most content, happy baby. We have tried really hard to follow most of the Babywise principals and she has fallen into a sleeping and eating schedule that is allowing me to get things done during the day and for her to finally start stretching it out some at night. I'm so proud of her! This is the picture we put on our Christmas card--one of the first smiles we could get on camera. Now she is grinning ear to ear and even shrieking some when she smiles. She is so cheesy sometimes! We are so excited to share our precious gift with our family at Christmas.

As Christmas is QUICKLY approaching, I hope you all enjoy your time with your family and make many wonderful memories. But remember in all the busyness why we celebrate. I think this Christmas has been so different already in that my heart is in such a peaceful place. Adam and I were remembering back to last Christmas. Selfishly, we were slightly depressed. It was really hard for us to stay focused on Christ's birth and celebrating that, b/c we were so desperately wanting a baby of our own. I was thinking a/b Mary the other day and what it must have been like to not only carry a miracle child, but the Savior of the world. To know that God chose you to carry his Son. I pray that I understand what a responsibility I have as a parent to teach Grace who Jesus is. That one day she will understand what a big deal Christmas is. That it isn't about presents. I look forward to hearing her little voice sing "Happy Birthday dear Jesus...". (We make Jesus a birthday cake and do this with my family.) Our biggest discussion lately has been if we will do Santa. We don't want her to think Jesus isn't real when she finds out that Santa isn't. As a child my mind never went there....but just something to ponder. I just really want her to get it. And don't want her heart to be clouded by anything else. Anyway, As the new year approaches, I am thankful for my miracle child this year. I am thankful that the Lord took us through all that he did. Our faith, marriage, and testimony is bigger and stronger than ever. I am thankful that he healed my body and that I am still seeing evidence of that. I am thankful that he is challenging us to bless others because it causes us to examine our own blessings which blows me away b/c we don't deserve them. Lastly, I am thankful for His Grace in my life. I have so far to go as a follower of Christ, a wife, and a mother. But I know he will take me there, one day at a time. We love you all and hope you have a WONDERFUL Christmas. Take some time to thank God for sending His Son as a gift to redeem the world. He is ALL we need!