Being a Mom!!!

I absolutely love being a mom!! When I wake up in the morning, I am greeted by a smiling, wide~eyed little boy, who melts my heart everyday!! It is true that God's mercies are new every morning because I witness in them in the laughter of my baby boy!!

I am completely fulfilled. I never could have imagined the joy that I have received from my little miracle.

Tonight he was restless and I was trying to get him to go to sleep. Lately he has let me rock him to sleep but tonight he just wanted to play with my hair. The look on his face when he'd grab a piece was priceless. His eyes said it all ~ "mommy you are so pretty!".

I just love him so very much!!!

Time Flies

Life around here has been so hectic lately. Jeremy's dad lost his job in Arizona at the end of March so they've moved back here (currently living in Florida) to search for a job. They commute from Jeremy's sisters to our house for job interviews and doctor appointments. Needless to say that it's hard to get 5 minutes to yourself when you have guests. But I keep in mind that no matter how hard it is for us, it is way harder for them. Their lives have been turned upside down and I can't even beging to imagine the stress they feel.

Since my last post, Jess has started crawling (see video) and pulling himself up!! He walks along the furniture and can even climb stairs. He is working on at least two more teeth which will give him four total. He is now 9 months old and I can not believe it!!! Where has the time gone??? He is growing so fast. It is a little unfair. I wish time would slow enough for me to soak everything in.

Jesse is a born swimmer!! He loves the pool!! My mom got him a baby pool which is on the deck next to the big pool. He loves the big pool so much that he will try to climb out of the little pool to get to the big one. It's not a big problem except that the first time he did it, he fell out and got a bloody nose. Andrew was right next to him so we told people that Andrew pushed him out of the pool.

Seriously, Jesse has the best uncles in the world. They are so awesome!!! It has taken them a few months to warm up to him. I think at first they were sacred of him. But now that he is mobile and not as fragile (hey that rhymes) they like him a lot more. Just today they came out to help me unload the car and when Jesse saw them his eyes lit up and he had this huge smile on his face!!!

To be able to watch him grow and change has been one of the greatest miralces in my life. I am so thankful for the opportunity God has given me. We prayed for months that God would open doors and allow me to work from home and He did it. He answered our prayers and we are tremendously grateful for that.

I guess that about sums everything up for now. I promise, I'm going to try to keep up with this. I need to learn time management. But honestly, I have so many more important things to do that this gets put on the back burner, but I'll try. Life is so crazy hectic and I want to keep you informed!!

Update!!!

WOW!! I can't believe that 2 whole months have passed since I've posted anything. Things have been so hectic lately and any free time I've had has been spent with my nose in a book. I'm sure it drives Jeremy nuts.

I am completely addicted to the Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury. I read one of the books in less than 2 days. It's funny how you get so involved in the characters lives that you begin to blur fiction and reality. One night after I'd entirely too late into the evening, I laid in bed praying, when I suddenly had the urge to pray for the characters in the book. That's when I new I was completely, utterly hooked.

Well, things here are great. Jesse is seven and a half months hold. He's beginning the motions of crawling. He's got the rocking and scooting down, but mostly he goes backwards, which didn't seem to bother him at first. Now, it makes him angry. (I have to admit that it's a little bit funny.) He's crazy awesome!!! I love him so, so, so much!!!

He said his first word today, "da da". He didn't actually say it to Jeremy, so it doens't quite count, but he still said it. I had to call Jeremy because he was at the fire station. I was hoping Jesse would say "da da" first. I'm with him every day and I wanted Jeremy to have this first. Now, I can't wait until he looks at Jeremy and says it!!!

I guess that's all for now, I really need to get some sleep. :)

WOW!!!

I cannot believe that is has been over a month since my last post. Jesse & I were sick for two weeks and ever since then I've been so tired that I haven't really felt like blogging. So much has happened in the past month. Jeremy is almost done with Paramedic school and Jesse is growing like a weed.

I must say that I am truly blessed!!! I don't know why God chooses to bless us because we definitely do not deserve it! I've been wanting a new (better) camera and Jeremy and I were going to save up the money (mostly from our birthday and anniversay money) and buy a decent camera that would grow with us. Well, we finished our tax return and to our suprise - we did not owe the IRS!!! In fact, we were getting a nice return from both federal and state!!! The check came in the mail on Thursday!!! So, I went tonight and purchaed the camera and it is amazing!!! (that's actually an understatement!!) We plan to use the money from our birthdays and anniversary to purchase another lens for the camera!! Plus - we're using the rest of the money to pay off a few bills, put a roof on the back porch, and take a much needed vacation to the beach this summer!!! I am so thankful for the blessings God chooses to pour out on us!!!

So here is the scoop on Jesse - this is from my online journal entry - today, so it's written to him. Enjoy!!
I am so sorry I didn't write in the journal last week. I feel so horrible about it. However your develpoment has slowed a little and I don't want to write the same thing each week! That is not the case this week!! We are now feeding you sweetpotates and you love them!! You also love the applesauce, bananas and carrots we feed you too!! You are a very good eater!! You have learned to pull your socks off and you are still trying to get your toes into your mouth. Your legs aren't quite long enough to reach your mouth - but you sure do try!!! You are getting so close to rolling from your back to your tummy!!! I have a feeling that once you master that, it won't be long until you crawling. WOW!!! But perhaps the most exciting thing that happened this week happened on Wednesday and then again today!!! Your first tooth began to appear on Wednesday and the second one started coming in today!! It makes me a little sad because it means that my little baby boy is growing up. But I am so proud of how well your growing and changing each day!!! I feel tremendously blessed to be able to stay at home with you and to witness all these miraculous milestones!!! I love you so much!!! You giggle almost all the time and you love to eat your baby food!! You are such a blessing to our lives!!! Sometimes I wonder if you realize just how much you are loved?? I cannot wait til the day when you can wrap your little arms around my neck and say, "Mommy, I love you!" I will probably cry that day - but it will be because I am so happy and blessed by you - my little Jesse!!!!

I cannot say enough - just how much I love my little Jesse!! He is amazing, absolutely amazing!!!! I love him so very much!!!! I cannot imagine life without him!!

Jesse is 4 months and 2 weeks old!!!

So much has happened this week. Jeese went to the doctor on Tuesday for some more shots. He weighs 14 pounds, 6.5 ounces and he's 25 inches long!!! WOW!! 2 pounds and 2 inches in 2 months. He is growing way too fast. He also got his first snow this week, twice!! It snowed on Wednesday and again today! He justed starred at the snow falling. I can't wait till he's old enough to play in it. Today we tried feeing him rice cereal from a spoon. That was very interesting and messy!!! Everytime I'd put the spoon in his mouth, he'd try to stick his fingers in there too. We'll try it again next week. He has discovered his feet!!! He loves to hold them and pull them up to his face. He rolls his hips from side to side and soon he'll roll from his back to his tummy. He is doing very well rolling from his tummy to his back! He is jumping like crazy in his jumperoo! He laughs all the time!! He is such a happy baby! He is sitting up better and better each day! He sits very well in his bumbo seat and when we sit behind him. Soon he'll be sitting on his own!!! I love him so much!!! I am so proud of him!!!!

Back to seriousness

Since reading Mike Hickabee's book I have found a new perspective on things. My mom and I were talking recently about the fact that everything seems blurred. There is no longer a standard of right and wrong. There are no moral absolutes. The line between balck and white has become so skewed. We've made compromise after compromise until we can no longer tell the difference between good and evil. When you get right down to it, there is good and there is evil -- nothing in between.

Somewhere along the way we decided to believe this and not that. We believe the things in the Bible that appeal to our self-centered worldview and pretend that the others don't exist. Isn't that the same as "adding to or taking away"; something we are warned against in Revelation??

As I read Huckabee's book and in my daily readings in the Bible, I have found that God's Word is very clear about what we should do and what we should not do. Huckabee mentions that the problem in America is that we've left everything to personal interpretation. Because we are self-centered by nature, we will interpret God's Word's in a biased, self-satisfing way.

What I have noticed is that when God gave Moses the Law He made everything crystal clear!! There wasn't don't do this unless... It says "Do not.... How hard is that to interpret. Do not means Do not. There is no connfusion, no what if's. But we have taken God's laws and made ammendments to them to make oursleves feel less gulity for the sins we committ. We make compromises and changes to the "law" so it fits into our box - it fits our lifestyle, when we should be molding ourselves to fit into God's box. I am so tired of people using God as a crutch!!! To me that is a spit in the face to God.

As I was reading Leviticus, it occured to me that the Israelites took the law and the commandments seriously. If they didn't follow the instruction to a "T", they would be killed. God struck Aaron's two sons dead for not folling His instructions regarding offering procedures. The problem is that we don't take God seriously. Very few people fear God these days.

One of the biggest problems we have it that we don't memorize scripture anymore. I am guilty here too. I have known this my whole life, but it has become increasingly evident to me over the past few weeks - every answer we will ever need is in the Bible!!!

Are we willing to accept God's answer and make the necessary changes in our lives???

Just for the fun of it!

watch the older boy's face when Charlie bites him the second time.

What I Believe ......

Ok, so with the upcoming elections, I've been reading "Character Makes a Difference" by Mike Huckabee. In it he talks about how we have replaced God's Standards with our own interpretation of it. This is dangerous because we tend to interpret it in a selfish, humanistic way. He points out that if we view humans as basically good then we will seek to educate and inform so that the behavior will change. But if we view humans as God does, basically self-centered, then we will hold people responsible for their actions; consequences/punishment must be faced. The example he uses is drugs: basically good, teach them that drugs are bad - then they won't use them; basically self-centered, put them in jail and take away their liberties.

He states that every answer we will ever need to anything is the 10 Commandments. He also talks about knowing your convictions and drawing a line that you will not cross.

I've also been reading through the Bible with Jesse each night. Right now we are in Leviticus and I was (still am) getting bored with it because it is all about the Laws. It has made me so thankful that I am no longer under the law but under grace.

So, I feel like God is challenging me to deifne my beliefs. To write out what I believe to be true based on what the Bible says. Here goes:

I believe that:

• Jesus is the only begotten Son of God
• the Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God
• Jesus was born of a Virgin
• Jesus became 100% man while remaining 100% God on the earth
• Jesus was sent to earth to die for my sins
• Jesus is the only way to Heaven
• Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life
• God the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit make up the Trinity, 3-in-1

Things that are wrong - (based upon the Bible)

• Murder & Abortion - even in the case of incest, or rape
• Anything that harms the body - smoking, drunkenness, drugs, ect.
• Sex before and outside of marriage
• Pornography
• Lying, cheating and stealing
• Cursing, taking the Lord's name in vain
• Gay marriage and unions
• Gossip and False Witness

.... Jesse is about ready for his bottle so I will continue this later.

Just a bit of randomness, really. But it means alot to me.

So I've been thinking a lot lately about my family. Everyone is getting older and to be honest, I am so pround of my brothers and my cousins. That may sound really weird. The thing is, we all were raised by 3 different women who were raised by the same parents and each one of them raised their children differently from the other. (I am speaking of my mom and her 2 sisters.)

I often wonder what will happen to our family once my grandparents go to be with the Lord. What I mean is they are the spiritual glue that holds our family together. They pray for each of their children and their spouses and for all of thier grandchildren and great grandchildren each night by name. I know how my mom raised me and I know how her prayer life is. I know that she is almost exactly like my grandparents. In my family, I know she will continue the spiritual traditions that my grandparents have begun. But I often wonder what will happen to "the cousins" when that day comes.

It may sound terrible but it's hard to talk to my cousins about their relationship with God. I don't want to be the nosy, "mother hen" of the cousins. But I was just on my myspace and I was looking at all of theirs and they all talk about their realtionship with God. It may sound corny, but that really means a lot to me. It's nice to see that they are all so open about it.

The older I get the more I realize just how important my relationship with Christ is. I also know that with each generation we compromise a little more. My mom and I were talking about it this afternoon - about how things are no longer black and white (right & wrong). There are more gray areas - the line between right and wrong get more blurry with each generation. I fear that eventually, we will blend in with the rest of the world.

I know I'm babbling and some of this is scattered. (at least it feels that way to me.) But I just wanted to say that I am so proud of my brothers and my cousins. We may joke around a lot but we're all on the right track!! I hope this makes some kind of sense. :)

MercyMe - Bring The Rain

This song has become our "2007 anthem". This song brought us so much encouragment and everytime we were down or discouraged this song would come on the radio and we would know -- God is still here and He knows what's going on and He will provide for us.

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah"
Psalms 68:19