Happy Day

Brayden just grabbed my hand and led me behind the couch where he was playing (our couch is in the middle of our living room if you havent been in our house) and say "Look Mommy, Happy Day!" and pointed to where he had built a birthday "cake" with two of his small toy boxes, and he put single mega blocks on top to look like candles! Did it all on his own and decided it looked like a "Happy Day" which is what he calls cake most of the time. Super cute!

Thanksgiving: Family Life

This article blessed my socks off this morning and I hope it blesses yours too!!

Thanksgiving Day after Day
by Barbara Rainey
He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me.
Psalm 50:23

Join us 2-11-11

Has it ever seemed surprising to you that God made the Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years just for grumbling and complaining? My kids may have spent 30 minutes in their rooms for griping, but 40 years? That's some severe discipline!
One thing is crystal clear from this biblical account: God is obviously not pleased with grumbling, ungrateful hearts. And we should not tolerate grumbling either--in ourselves or in our children.
Being grateful is a choice that we readily and ritually express on Thanksgiving Day. But what do we do on other days of the year when the mood is less festive or the atmosphere is more ordinary?
I like the contented way the Pilgrims approached life. They did not allow their feelings or circumstances to determine whether or not they would exercise gratitude and thanksgiving. They believed that God was in control--"providence," they called it. Following this belief to its logical conclusion, they responded to challenges with a perspective that said, "God has allowed this for our good." They chose to believe--rightly so--that their dependence on a holy, faithful God was well placed and that even though much was against them, there was always much more for which to be grateful.
Developing a heart of gratitude is essential to growing a stronger faith. As John Piper stated in his book A Godward Life, "If we do not believe that we are deeply dependent on God for all we have or hope to have, the very spring of gratitude and faith runs dry."
Make the choice today to take your eyes off yourself and your circumstances, gratefully acknowledging who God is and what He is doing. Deny yourself the right to complain, embracing instead the deep-seated joy of thanksgiving ... in all things.
A grateful heart pleases God.

Decorating...

for CHRISTMAS in our house tonight :)! Going to get our tree this coming Sunday, but with the way Mike's work schedule is working out, we want to get as much celebrating/festivities/decorating in this year as we can! Really Really Really looking forward to it this year, since Brayden has been getting a big kick out of the holidays so far! Looking forward to how he reacts to everything Christmas! Last year as a family of THREE!

Brayden-isms

• Mike and I have decided that Brayden's clumsiness and tendency for injury is not entirely his fault.  He has a gigantic noggin, and we have decided that that is partly to blame for his ceaseless injuries.  Right now he has a goose-egg and bruise on his temple (thankfully mostly covered by hair) from falling on the hardwood floor from running too fast. He has a cut on his ear from who knows what, and still some minor roadrash on his cute little chin from his tree incident last week. But after watching him run and fall repeatedly today, and then, like I was telling my sister on the phone earlier, watching him trying to stand up and bonk his head 3 separate times on the entertainment center, we just digressed and decided to allow his huge head to be his excuse for the time being.
• Second, he may be deciding for a career behind the pulpit as we speak.  I just watched Brayden take "The Pursuit of God" by A.W.Tozer out of our book basket on the fireplace, proceed to stand up on top of the fireplace step, open it, and "read" it aloud to the dogs, with hand gestures and everything.  I am now wishing I could have grabbed my video camera in time, but you'll have to trust me that it was one of the cutest things I have ever seen :)

The Sleep Trials

I've been meaning to write this post for the last couple of days, but keep putting it off or forgetting and it's about time I journal it for memory's sake.  A little while back, citing my friends again, my friend Casey posted about the hard time her young baby was having sleeping through the night and the time old discussion of crying it out, or not.  I appreciated her words on the topic, especially her decision to forego crying it out, knowing what is best for her little girl.  I remember going through the same trial with Brayden, though I have to admit, thats been one of the easier aspects of Brayden, he loves sleep like his Mama.  He has plenty of other more problemsome things, like his stubborn streak, like his aversion to almost all foods, and also his contentment with how he does things instead of a drive to want to learn how else to do it (walking, crawling, talking, etc!).  But back to sleep.  Brayden has always been a pretty good sleeper with some hiccups along the way including colic, waking up for feedings, being sick, etc.  About a month ago Brayden went through a week of NOT sleeping well. Coupled with the stomach flu for all of us, and Mike and I not being quite sure how to handle it, it took two nights of Brayden sleeping in bed with us, one night of us all sleeping on the couch, and a few nights of getting up throughout the night to calm him down to get through it.  But I learned something from that time.  Brayden actually did better when I didnt come in to calm him down.  I ended up being a catalyst for the problem.  Instead of making it better, the fact that I came to Brayden and then had to eventually leave again, no matter how long I stayed, made him even more upset.  I understand crying it out is sometimes neccessary, and Mike and I even have had to do it a handful of times with Brayden, and there is something just so unnatural about listening to your child being upset, and not tending to them.  But it was when I realized Brayden got even MORE upset when I left, that I had to pick the less of the two evils and go with that.  Sure enough, it took a couple nights, and each night a little less time, for Brayden to calm down, and he was sleeping through the night again.

Well, this week, it started back up again.  And, unfortunately, I end up being the person that sometimes has to learn a lesson more than once.  I was caught off guard that Brayden was doing this again, and the first night, I went in, and when I couldnt calm him down, I ended up "not" sleeping with him on our guest bed all night (why do kids toss and turn so much?!)  Mike and I talked the next day and both agreed we would have to treat this as the last time and tough it out with Brayden.  The first night, Brayden cried off and on for over 30 minutes. It was rough.  The only saving grace I had was that every single time I almost got out of bed, he would calm down. It was like 5 minutes on 5 minutes off, of him being upset. And on a side note, its not him screaming and crying the whole time, I couldnt handle that and would just cave. It's more of him crying some, calming down, talking and whimpering some, calming down, and every now and then a temper tantrum thrown in there.  But, I didnt go in, and actually took the time to lay awake in bed and pray over him, for God's comfort and peace to cover him, for him to get rest, and for me to get rest as well.  The next night was only 15 minutes, and last night, nothing at all.

Parenting is SUCH a journey isn't it? The number one thing I think I have learned is that you have to be willing to adapt and change with your child. Everything seems to be a stage, and you have to find what works best in that stage. Crying it out when Brayden was a baby, just wasn't what worked, consoling him was for the most part, surefire.  Now that he is older and understands more, it just confused him to have me come in there. I just wanted to journal this, so one day, when he's having sleeping problems with his own kids, he'll have this to look back on!

Let it snow!

This weekend we're expecting snow, every day :) Probably less than a foot total, but man oh man am I looking forward to it! Supposed to start, according to NOAA (national weather service, MUCH more reliable than Weather Channel, at least where we live!), at around 3pm! Mike and I got Brayden a new jacket, that came with a beanie and fabric mittens too, and thankfully a lot of his gloves and beanies still fit him from before. But my Aunt Judy also scored Brayden another winter jacket and two more pairs of gloves that we got in the mail yesterday.  I'm hoping we have enough to build a snowman this weekend, but only time will tell. Mike is going with the Youth Group on Sunday to cut down Christmas trees for a camp fundraiser, so they should have fun in that! Thankful for our truck so he can drive out in the woods and not get stuck! Pics of our Winter Wonderland to come!

Pregnancy: Week 9

Pregnancy: 9 weeks today!

 

Weight Gain: Havent stepped on the scale.  Feel like I'm at my regular weight!

Sleep: Still sleeping ok throughout the night. Sometimes I have to get up a couple times to go pee ;).  The other new development this week, is that when Mike gets home from his night shift, I used to just roll over, say hi, and fall asleep, now I am staying awake for a good 30-45 minutes after, ugh!

 

the next two will stay the same for a little while:

 

Gender: It will be a few months, but no, we're not keeping it a surprise.

Name: Well, I am really hoping to get my way on this, and I would like to keep said name for either a boy or girl a secret until we have him/her. Daddy is the deciding factor in this of course, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll let us go for it! We already have a girl name for SURE picked out, and a boy name, we're way undecided on!

Feeling: like normal me, with a little more tiredness thrown in there, and a bit of nausea.  The past 3 evenings the nausea and exhaustion have been even worse,  back to the no eating dinner, just lightly snacking.

Health: Still chugging. Feeling pretty darn well :)

 

Belly: Non existent!

 

What I am looking forward to: going to the doctor (but not the bill!). Due to scheduling and the OB being in high demand up here, I wont see a doctor until I am 11 1/2 weeks along. That blows my mind and kind of worries me, but since I am feeling so healthy and taking my prenatals I know I need not worry. I know a lot of women dont even find out till they are a few months along that they are pregnant, and the doctors office assured me it is ok as long as I feel fine.  Plus, most importantly, God's got this little one in His hands!

 

What I miss: feeling more productive in the evenings! It's hard getting off work and wanting to give my all to Mike and Brayden and just not feeling up to doing much! Trying to work on pushing through it but come 8 or 9, I'm just about done!

Milestones: Nothing yet!

 

Movement: Nothing yet of course!

Cravings: Bagels, Cream Cheese, Icees (which Brayden loves now too), Poptarts :) I even managed to scarf down a couple apples this week which made me happy since fruit hasn't been sounding all that good!

Favorite Things

My buddies Casey (jcmfamily.blogspot.com) and Elissa (melafamilyblog.blogspot.com) both posted a cute little list of favorite on their blogs and I wanted to join in on the fun! Here I go!

Flowers: Gerbera Daisies.  They always make me smile. I just think they are so bright and beautiful and full of life that they cheer up a whole room :-)! Plus, they look gorgeous on my dining room table!

Color Combination: I have to say, I love the blues/antique whites/whites that cover our bedroom. It's romantic, relaxing, and exactly where I want to be at the end of a long day! That being said, Mike just re-painted like 70% of our entire house to be the beautiful gold/yellow that I wanted, so I love me some bright colors too!!

Celebrity Couple: Like my friends, I could care less, and I honestly wouldn't know who to pick or who is even together!

Favorite Theme Song: Hehe, this would be it right now, because theme song means from a show right? I dont know that the shows Mike and I normally watch have themes, but I love the veggietales theme song and always find myself singing along and dancing around when Brayden watches them!

Favorite Magazine(s):

I love this magazine, I haven't gotten it in a couple of years, but I remember when I did, I would read them and re-read them and highlight and cut things out of them.  They were just so relevant to what I was feeling/needing/going through!

And Parents magainze :) I get it monthly and love it every single time :)

Favorite Thing about Fall: FAMILY TIME! I posted this before, but I feel like my soul just feels at rest during Fall. I get to recoup from a really busy Summer, watch the leaves change, and snuggle with two of my all time favorite people :).

Favorite things about being a Mom: Knowing Bray inside and out, what makes him tick, what makes him laugh, what can get him out of a funk, his deep belly laugh, there is nothing like it and it makes his whole body shake and convulse and his smile engulfs his entire face, rocking him, just because he wants me too, when he needs me too, when he's tired or scared, and watching Mike and him together, there is no better feeling in the world!

Favorite things about being a Wife: knowing that I have the man I love with all my heart, at my side, for my entire life. Lots of people never find that and most people don't find it as young as I did, I am truly blessed! I love to watch him sleep but he'll tell you that that creeps him out! I like being able to warm my cold feet up on him when we are in bed, because I can't sleep with socks on, but my feet always start out cold! For all the memories we've made and the ones we have yet to make!

About blogging: first and foremost, it's my diary. I wonder if people believe me about that. I have a pretty darn bad memory, I have to read things or look at pictures to remember exact events and this blog has given me that outlet to be able to preserve all the memories I dont take the time to sit and write down! To be able to keep up with people I love, meet new people I would have never known, and for community, like Elissa said, I can bounce questions off people, read others advice, and really learn from lots of other Christian women, moms and wives!

More Park Fun

In the Leaves

More Beauty

Daddy snapping a couple shots of Mom and the boy

Took this off the bridge, looking down. It was simply BREATH-taking.

The Beautiful Place We Live

We took an impromptu drive today and took a small hike down to this beautiful cove off the lake that runs into a small river/big creek if you will. Gave me a chance to snap some shots!

I've been telling Mike I want to go kayaking for quite awhile now, and finally today he saw the fun and the beauty of it as we watched these people come into this little cove!

Pregnancy Week 8

Pregnancy: 8 weeks today!

Weight Gain: Well, I've gained since last week, probably 2 or 3 pounds, but the weight loss before was about 7, so, hopefully still only at a loss of 4. But how is it that I've lost weight and my jeans are already feeling tighter? :-)

Sleep: Still sleeping a solid 7-8 hours at night. No naps for this Mommy, at least during the week. Something I wish I would have cherished more when I was preggo with Brayden! I think I slept 14-16 hours at this time during my pregnancy with him (but I was waaaay sicker)

the next two will stay the same for a little while:

 

Gender: It will be a few months, but no, we're not keeping it a surprise.

Name: Well, I am really hoping to get my way on this, and I would like to keep said name for either a boy or girl a secret until we have him/her. Daddy is the deciding factor in this of course, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll let us go for it! We already have a girl name for SURE picked out, and a boy name, we're way undecided on!

Feeling: SO much better. Prayer works! Still have bouts of nausea every single day but haven't tossed cookies in over a week now! Hooray! I can even eat dinner now, which last week, made me shudder!

Health: Still chugging. Feeling pretty darn well :)

Belly: Non existent!

 

What I am looking forward to: feeling baby move. That was something I didnt take for granted with Brayden and I know I wont with this one either. There is something so beautiful about having another life created and formed within you and being able to feel that little one grow and move.  I LOVED that part of pregnancy and can't wait to experience it again!

What I miss: Not being so emotional. Ok, stop laughing. Let me re-phrase that. Not being more emotional than what is usually expected of me! :)

Milestones: Nothing yet!

 

Movement: Nothing yet of course!

Cravings: I am enjoying bagels a lot right now, bagels and cream cheese. Still not thrilled about anything sweet lately, but I can at least think of sweet things, or occassionally eat them without feeling like I am going to be sick!!

Morning Fun

I have the day off, but woke up earlier than both boys today, so I straightened up the house, and then Brayden and I made muffins for Daddy

I love how Brayden asked to wear Daddy's "glasses" while he stirred the batter, and I actually really like this shot in general :)!

To keep Brayden busy while I finished the dishes, I cut out some shapes and then traced them, kind of like a construction paper puzzle. He would have to match them up and then tell me what they were. "Scare" "Circle" "Die-mon" "Ti-agle"

It was chilly this morning and we had the heater on but in the middle of getting dressed Brayden asked to "sleep"
in the laundry basket. He sat there for a good little while plaiyng with his cars and watching a bit of a movie. Look at his face, could he possibly look any more like Mike?!

Everyday Life

My Brutus. How could you not just fall in love with this face? I do on a daily basis :)

Brayden kissing Brutus (how many people are grossed out by the thought of your kid kissing a dog? Haha, Mike and I love how much Brayden loves his "goggies" and how sweet he is to them!)

"Mommy!" "Snow!"

I was so bummed he turned away, if you look close, you can see his little smile!

Faces

About to say "Mom" in his Brayden-impatient-voice

with the flash on, turned out like this

he was loving letting me take pictures of his cute face, and then came this :)

Hand Holding

Brayden and I were watching Blue's Clues last week when he reached over and grabbed my hand. Thankfully I had my camera right there to take a cute picture of it. Made me think of the lyrics to a song something along the lines of "hold my hand as you hold my heart" :)

Fall Leaves

It's no secret to everyone that knows me that Fall is my most favoritest of seasons. There is just something SO calming about fall, the leaves changing, the bundling up weather, everyone settling down after busy Summer schedules. It's just a homey, family oriented feeling that blesses me every single year. Anyways, the trees in the Lake Almanor Basin (where we live) are GORGEOUS this time of year. I dont think any picture I will ever take will show their true splendor. There are two trees in particular that I have my eye on for next year to take photos of. I LOVE those trees and had hoped to get out and get some shots of them with my point and shoot, but alas, morning sickness and the stomach flu won out. Thankfully I snapped these few pictures of the cute little tree in our front yard the night before the leaves turned ugly black and brown from rain and snow. I love this little tree :)

More Halloween Pics

Well, this one isn't a Halloween one, but it's Brayden in his new Woody towel, he loves it because it has a hat, which he totally over-pronounces when he says "hat" and its super cute....

With his pumpkin, thanks Grammy for all the different features! He picked out his own features and it provided a good lesson for eyes, ears, mouth, nose, etc :)

With his awesome Jack O Lantern sucker from Grammy

Playing the ring "toss" game at the Harvest Festival!