Happy Birthday Furry Girl!

Our furry firstborn turned 2 years old today. We will celebrate later with a trip to Petsmart where she gets to pick out a treat and of course I'll have to stop by our local bakery for pooches and get a little birthday cake for her. I know people tried to tell us that once we had a baby our little furball would get tossed by the wayside but that's just not the case in our household. I mean, obviously Grant comes first, but we are crazy about our sweet Dakota and are celebrating her today as part of our family. Yes, we are those people who love their dog arguably way too much. :) But, who cares?!?! Happy birthday sweet girl!

Gigi had Gippy bring by a special delivery for Kota this morning....


and she's been dragging around that "stuffless" racoon all day....and loving it!

Compassion

Have y'all heard of Compassion Ministries? If you haven't, I highly encourage you to look into it. We learned about this ministry over a year ago at our church and were so impressed. This ministry has been through all the due diligence checks and turns out it is the "best bang for you buck" in terms of giving to a charity. Over 90% of the money donated actually goes to feeding children around the globe, educating them in new schools, providing medical care for them, and teaching them about Jesus. And the really cool part for the sponsors....your child writes you a letter often! We get a letter from our little girl, Among, once a month (via a translator, of course) and are able to write back to her. We have received pictures and sent her pictures of our little family as well. It will bless you a million times over to sponsor a child through this ministiry.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, I follow a couple of blogs on my sidebar and some of these people have taken a trip to India with Compassion Ministries to visit some of the sponsored children there. Check out Pete's blog, Angie's blog, and Melissa's blog (who is Beth Moore's daughter and often writes on the Living Proof Ministries blog). I encourage you to read these blogs and see what you think. If you've never sponsored a child, consider doing it, and if you already sponsor a child, consider telling your friends. There are more children who need sponsors and in this economic crisis there have been many children whose sponsors can no longer afford to sponsor them.

It is a GREAT cause, y'all, and such an easy way to make an impact on the life of a child who otherwise would have a bleak future ahead of them. And, it's a fabulous way to teach your kids about loving and giving to others in a tangible way. We have Among's picture on our refrigerator and we plan to have Grant help us write letters to her and give money from his little piggy bank stash to buy her birthday and Christmas presents some day. Look into it! I promise you won't be disappointed if you decide to sponsor a child!

Get Your Grant Fix

Nothing exciting to post. Just thought I'd put up some random Grant pictures from the week so you can get your Grant fix for the weekend. :)

Snoop Dog

We were reading our Snoopy book on our MATCHING Snoopy blanket this morning! A big thanks to Great Uncle Jan and Great Aunt Linda for sending us such FUN presents all the way from California! Still cannot believe that the book and blanket match so perfectly yet you found them in different places. They're so cute! Thanks for providing our entertainment today. :)






And a BIG thanks to Mimi for our stylish, striped PJ's you see pictured! :)

Texas Bluebonnets

Our friends Sara and Sutton came to visit yesterday. Grant woke up from a nap shortly after they arrived and lounged in his undies before getting dressed to play with Sutton. :)



Grant got dressed and the boys played for a little while. I use the term "played" very loosely at this point. :)






Then we were off to lunch followed by a quick photo session in the bluebonnets. Sara brought her awesome camera, and although it was hot (over 90 degrees today!) and sunny and neither boy wanted to show us a smile, we persevered and got some shots anyway. For those of you out of state, taking pictures in the Texas bluebonnets is a MUST every spring. Growing up in Austin (the BEST place for wildflowers) we took bluebonnet pictures every year and they're always so neat. So of course Grant had to have that experience this year. He's not quite sitting on his own yet so I am strategically holding him up from behind. Gotta love that cropping feature. :)




"Seriously, Mom, why do you torture me so? Oh, what's that? You want me to smile? Yeah, right. I'll get right on that."







Thanks for visiting us, Sara and Sutton! And GREAT idea to find some bluebonnets (although I'm not sure the boys thought it was such a great idea...haha). See y'all soon!

Roommate Reunion

We had a GREAT day yesterday with our friends Emily and Brooks from MD who spent the day with us and a visit from Rachel and Audrey, too! These cute mamas were my college roommates for 3 years and we've all had babies in the last 13 months! Kind of surreal to have us all together with our kids!?!?! How did this happen?! It was so fun though and to see a good play-by-play of our day click here.

Playing with fun Auntie Em

Rach and Audrey

Brooks and Mommy playing at our neighborhood playground

The B-Man enjoying a bath before bedtime

Complete with rubber duckies and a furry pooch

Happy 6 Months Baby Boy

That's right, it's been 6 months since that crazy day in October. I'm not quite ready to talk about all of the events that were set in motion that day and Jason and I are still sifting through the aftermath of a traumatic birth and delivery. I hope to someday sort it all out and share a little bit of what we went through the first 4 months of Grant's life. But I'm not ready yet and today is a celebration that we are both, Grant and me, here and healthy. It is truly a miracle and we are grateful.

Grant is now closing in on 14 lbs. He still has pretty severe reflux that is mostly under control with medicine and thickened feeds. He is eating fruits and veggies every day and is the most mild-mannered, content, happy baby (unless the reflux is acting up). He is a very patient little man and LOVES to chat! Seriously talks non-stop most of the day. It's hysterical! He startles easily and takes a few minutes to warm up to most people before he starts chatting their ear off. He is rolling over and in the beginning stages of trying to sit up. He now naps on his tummy most of the time but still likes his back at night. And oh my gosh does this boy LOVE the water! We seriously cannot wait to take him to the beach. He will stay in the bath tub until the water is cold and still want to stay and kick, kick, kick! It's hilarious!

Grant really has thrived despite the reflux and the forced entry into this world a month early because his mommy was so sick. In fact, they kept telling me all the way to the OR that they weren't sure what kind of problems Grant would have being 4 weeks early but he probably wouldn't get to go home with us. Boy did this little guy prove them wrong! They observed him in the NICU for 7 hours before finally giving up after being unable to find anything wrong with him. Do you know how miraculous that is?! What a special little guy.

Happy 6 months sweet little man! We love you so much!

Easter

I'm not sure where I'm going with this post so if you don't want to follow the ramblings (and I completely understand why you wouldn't) please scroll to the bottom for cute Easter pix which are really why you're still checking out this blog anyway, right?! :)

I learned 2 big lessons this Easter. Or maybe learned isn't the right word. Maybe I was just allowed to understand a couple of things a tad bit deeper than I have been able to in the past due to new experiences in my life. One is quite obvious and the other I will choose to be a little more vague about but both were heart-stopping, "I'll never be the same" realizations.

The first was a new perspective on exactly what God did for us as sinners and what Mary had to endure as a result. I mean God allowed His Son to be tortured, humiliated, beaten to a bloody pulp and killed in a most gruesome way for me. And you. He had done nothing wrong and yet He was willing to face the disgrace, pain, and suffering for us. Who does that?

And many of us aren't even grateful for it. In fact a lot of us don't even believe He was who He said He was. A lot of us think He was a liar...or crazy....or both. But He still died for them too. Whether they would believe or not. Whether they were nice to Him or not. I mean, it would take a lot for me to go through that torture for someone who was nice to me but there's no way I'd be willing to do it for someone who WASN'T nice to me. And I sure as fire wouldn't offer up MY son to do it. I mean really, who would do that?

Jesus would do that. Jesus did that. By choice. For us. ALL of us.

I have a son now. And I'm sure every parent feels this way, but could you let your son go through what Jesus went through? Even if you knew it would save millions of lives? I cannot fathom how Mary had the strength to witness it. If it were Grant.....I cannot even write the words. I could not stand under the pain. I am sure I couldn't. Yet Mary stayed until the bitter end. She stayed until He drew His last breath. The baby boy she had raised into a man and all the sacrifice that came from being a "virgin with child" and then God allowed her to watch the most horrific torture and murder of her INNOCENT son. How did she do it? How did she watch? Oh how she must have suffered. The sight must have been so gruesome. I bet she had nightmares about it for the rest of her life.

Totally new perspective on what Mary suffered and what God was willing to do for us as sinners. How can your heart not break if you allow yourself to really go there? It's hard to accept and be reminded of the fact that Jesus suffered and died for us, because of OUR sin, not His but OURS. We like to celebrate that He is risen (and that's really important that He did) but that's only half of it. He had to suffer and die for us first before He could conquer death for us and rise again. I just really feel like it's important to recognize and remember the whole picture. We will be intentional about teaching Grant the whole picture (leaving the gruesomeness out of it until he's older of course).

And the other realization God showed me was the complete innocence of Christ. Now, I know Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. He was blameless and free from sin which allowed Him to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. I know all this. But this year I was given an earthly picture of that so as to be able to truly comprehend how difficult this must have been for Jesus to endure and how much He must have loved us to go through with it.

Now let me ease your mind, no one I know was literally crucified this year. :) But I was witness to incredibly unjust actions against someone who did not deserve it. Do you truly understand how devastating that is? Jesus had done NOTHING wrong and yet He was blamed, humiliated, spit upon, beaten, and nailed to 2 pieces of wood where He was left to die a painful death. And He had done NOTHING wrong. I had not fully comprehended that until some recent events in my life allowed me to understand it a little better. Jesus was blameless and took the fall. And He did it graciously and without anger. Why? Because great is His love for us.

Have you ever noticed that a lot of the time it's the nicest people who get the worst rap? (I'd say Jesus got a pretty bad rap and from what I've read He was THE NICEST guy around.) I mean people who don't deserve bad things to come their way seem to get more than their fair share sometimes. Have you noticed that? Have you also noticed that a lot of the time these same people seem to be closest to God? That these people don't waiver in their faith when the bad times hit? Have you noticed that? Could it be that God trusts them with the worst of circumstances and allows events to occur so that "all will see how great is our God" just as Jesus did? Because they trust that their suffering will serve God's greater good. That God will ultimately use the pain and humiliation they suffer for good.

These blessed people who face hurtful, difficult, and humiliating circumstances through no fault of their own are trusted by God to show us who He is because He knows they will be faithful....just as Jesus was faithful! For these blessed people there will be many mansions in heaven because they have stood the test of faith, they have won the race, and they know who wins in the end! I am privileged to know such people and I do know who wins in the end! "For all will see how great, HOW GREAT, is OUR GOD!"

Was that rambling or what people!!! You should get a medal if you actually read all of that. :) And now for the cute Easter pix....enjoy! HE IS RISEN!






Grant's sweet Easter outfit was courtesy of our friends Pam, Courtney, and Lindsay. They gave it to Grant before he was even born with the thought that it would be the perfect size for Easter....and they were right! Thanks friends!

Easter Goodies

We received 2 very fun packages yesterday. One was some Easter goodies all the way from New Mexico from my Aunt that had fun stuff for all......



.....and then Nana sent Grant some Easter fun all the way from Connecticut!


Thank you all so much for thinking of us!

Geaux Tigers!

No, LSU is not playing in any major sporting events today that I know of but we were sporting our LSU Tiger gear brought to us all the way from Louisiana by my grandparents. I wonder if Grant had dreams of Mardi Gras and Cajun food last night given his attire? Probably not since he's not experienced either at this point in his little life. :)

For My Dad Today

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

Our Military Families

We got to see our friend, Darryn, yesterday and his precious little family. Darryn leaves today for training in Alaska and then off to Afghanistan for 12-18 months. We are so proud of Darryn and his service to us and to our country and can't think of anyone that would make us feel safer than this guy! But we are also very aware of the strain and hardship that go with military service both for our servicemen and women and their families back home. It is a huge sacrifice and one that we need to appreciate through prayer and action. We have committed to praying over this sweet military family and will stay in contact with Darryn during his tour of duty. 12-18 months is a very long time to be away from your family especially when you have a little boy who is only 19 months old!

These guys have been friends since Jason graduated from college. We all went to church together and have seen each other through weddings, babies, trips, and just life in general. (Darryn is on the far right.)



Darryn, we thank God for you and pray safety, health, and wisdom over you as you serve us overseas. We pray for protection in the face of danger and a safe journey home. We pray for the men and women who will be with you, for relationships that will deepen while you are there and for strength to carryout your duties. We pray for your family to be at peace while you are away and to feel God's love and presence in a very real and tangible way during this time. We love you; we thank you. You are our real life hero.

Playing with Gippy

We went over yesterday to play with the Gips while Gigi was away at a wedding shower. Grant thinks his Gippy is very funny although this flying superhero game is a bit risky. I think Gips was lucky to only get a burp in the face and a little spit up on his shirt!

Roll Over

Yep, that's what we've been doing a lot of lately. Last Monday, March 23rd, while I was at work of course, Grant rolled over onto his tummy for the first time. He then got stuck there and since he hates to be on his stomach began fussing at Gigi to kindly roll him back over. :) He's doing much better now, though, and actually stayed on his tummy this morning for quite awhile. We also caught him sleeping on his stomach last night which was very cute. :) This is so not an interesting post but it's all I've got for now. Dakota is at the groomer so it's a little quite around here this morning....kinda nice actually. :)