faces and imagination

Owen hit a big mile stone this past weekend. He was drawing with his aqua doodle (which if your little one does not have one...they should-coolest crafty toy ever!) and he told Joe and I "I draw face". When we asked to see what he drew sure enough there was a head two eyes and a mouth.  I asked him to draw it again and he did! He said he was drawing Owen.

It is really cool to see his little imagination unfold and see what he comes up with from day to day. I love hearing his little chatter he does with his toys. He makes up stories and role plays with them for long periods of time. Sometimes, it's telling and convicting the way he talks to his toys because he repeats words and phrases we say to him. For example, he will boss Charlie around and tell him things like "now Charlie you make good choice". Or, he loves talking to his toys in the bath tub. He will go on for a good 10 minutes making up dialogue for them. I have to catch it on video!

Drawing a face seems like a big deal and huge mile stone to me! I can't believe he drew it so well, and SO clear! He is getting so big and I think more things like these are in our near future!

Sweetness for my soul

Owen has always been a classic daddy's boy. He and Joe have a very special bond.  He is a boys boy through and through. It's just how God made him, and I love it! Although I would not be lying if there were weird times through out the last three years where I secretly wished he preferred me over Joe. =) Well, it seems I have gotten my wish. Over the last month or so Owen has definitely preferred me over Joe. He has become so much more lovely toward me and always chooses to ride in my car with me over his daddy, when we drive separate cars. When I get a rare moment of going to grocery store or anywhere without Owen, and Joe stays with him, Joe reports how he asks about me all the time. It's sweet, and it warms my heart!

Yesterday was just icing on the cake. After eating lunch, Owen ran up and curled up in my lap, wrapped his skinny arms around my neck and said "You're my favorite Mommy" (totally unprompted by the way) He's never said those words to either Joe or I. (It probably stems from us telling him daily he's our favorite boy). But, It serious melted this mama's heart and I would be lying if I didn't say it didn't bring some tears to my eyes. Yes, it made me get a little teary.

I think it's a sweet sweet time for this sweet little bond for Owen and I to bloom. We are now officially 10 weeks away from the due date of our little girl. Maybe God is preparing Owen in some way that I don't know about on the emotional level of him having a sibling. Maybe God is preparing ME for a world of change having two children and not as much time with Owen. I don't know the reason for Owen wanting to be closer and loving me more than usual. I don't need a reason, I will just take it and eat it up!


Me and my favorite boy:

California days

Well, we have been home from California for about a week and a half and I'm just now getting to posting about our trip. This trip was a a trip that Joe and I wanted to take as one last trip with being a a family of three. We wanted to take advantage of Owen having one more visit with family and friends that would revolve only around him =) One on one time with Grandma and Papa, special sleep overs-just him at Auntie Kim and Uncle Joel's house and one very special day going to Disneyland! We had a great time and feel so blessed that we were able to go and that we have such great family and friends there!

Here's some of my favorite pictures of our time there:

The first day we got there,my parents had a lot of tangerines to be picked. So, we sent all the grandkids to take care of it for them. It was so beautiful in CA and Owen loved the sunshine!

My sister's little girl, Kailyn. LOVE her!!!

I ust love this picture of Owen and my mom!

Me and my mama!

Owen loved meeting all the characters at Disneyland. He was not afraid at all!

Me and O on Main Street

Meeting Mickey!

Joe and Owen on Dumbo-Owen's favorite ride

Owen's "best friend" (as Owen calls him) Isaac met us there. We were so happy that the Bowers and the Kings met us at Disneyland ad spent the day with us!!

We went on a day trip to Ventura Beach with my parents one day.

Joe and my dad. Enough said. =)

A GORGEOUS California day in January!

Papa and his boy!

26 weeks

 

I feel really good! My energy is up, and that's a lot being said while chasing a three year old around! I am experiencing some rib pain here and there and the normal pregnancy lower back pain. Aside from that I feel really good. She is moving more and more, and I can now feel her when she shifts her body into a different position. Still amazes me every time I feel her move that I am carrying a baby! I went to the doctor last week and she said all seems well. She measured my belly and said I am measuring just right and that the baby had a healthy heart rate of 145-150 beats per minute. I gained 3 pounds in the last 5 weeks, my appointments were not exactly 4 weeks apart due to the holidays. Next time I go in I will do the test for gestational diabetes.

Owen wanted to get in on the belly pictures too-so sweet!!

SNOW DAY!

Well. the weather men were right one with this storm. It's been a big deal on the news the last few days, trying to prepare us all for A LOT of snow. And, a lot of snow we have gotten! Last night we started seeing the snow fall about 9:00, and within 30 minutes Joe and I started seeing it stick and covering our car and the streets with a light layer of snow. When we woke up this morning we had blankets of white snow everywhere! It's just beautiful. Although, not the kind of snow you would like to make a snowman-too hard, but still fun to play in. We probably have gotten around 3 inches, maybe more??? The thing that has Atlanta in a frenzy is 1. we rarely see this much snow at a time 2. what we are getting now and will continue to get is freezing rain. Which means LOTS of ice and dangerous roads.

Joe has been working from home today and maybe tomorrow too.  Soooooo we bundled up this morning, and enjoyed some time in our front yard and went on a small walk in the snow!

Thoughts on the book of Job

Well, it's a new year. I am not too big on resolutions, but I like the idea and it always seems like I fail at about week three into a new resolution/goal/promise...whatever you want to call it. I'm going to call it a promise, and I pray with The Lords help I can keep this promise!

I decided after reading this article, that I was going to start a Bible reading plan for the year. The plan jumps all over The Bible and has no particular order, but it is a plan to read the whole Bible in a year. WHOA! that's a big commitment/promise! I was hesitant to mention I wanted to do this,  to my small group last night, because I am already afraid of failing. But, I feel like I NEED to do this, I feel as if God is calling me closer to Him and it would be so sad for me to  ignore Him. I was not reading before. I really am bad in this area. It's sad. But, I want to try and I love how this article talks about fearing to fail and that God gives us His grace to fail. So, here's to a year in the Word!

I wrote this email to some my girlfriends after reading this morning, and decided I needed to share it on my blog:

So, I read my first day of my Bible reading plan. Job. Job 1-3, when I saw that this was today's reading I thought, thanks God...that will be uplifting. And, you know what? It kinda was! In Ch. 2 toward the end I really resonated with verse 10 when Job tells his wife (after all his livestock and such was destroyed and had sores covering his body from head to toe) "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" I also loved verses 11-13 when it talks about his friends who came to visit him because of his pain. They were emotionally so upset because their friend was in such horrible pain, all they could do was just sit with him-not saying a word. They probably provided so much comfort to him in those 7 days and nights they were with him...In all these things Job never cursed our Lord. WOW!

These two things that stood out made me think our our dear friend, Norma, who passed away yesterday afternoon. She was so good. She blessed so many people with her love and generosity, some would say through her they were accepting the good. And, now since she is gone it just reminds me we need accept Gods trouble sometimes. Weird? Make sense? I know Norma is "dancing with Jesus now" as one friend said yesterday, but it's still hard I think for some to accept. I have no idea if this is making sense so I'm sorry if you are like, Jen you have no idea what you are talking about =) The other thing it made me think of is good friends...that would be you girls. I so pray that in moments of your hurt I have been able to be there for you and just be quiet and be a comforting spirit. I will do my best in the future to be that person for you if you need it. Just like Jobs friends were to him. The best I know how to relate to this is, after I had Owen I had mastitis, I was sad because I was all "alone" with this new babe-Joe went back to work, and my family was back to CA. I felt like I was failing 3 weeks into his life as a mom because I was not nursing him. I was falling into a depression. I remember Sherry Scott and Audra coming at different times and helping me when I could not help myself, or Owen. And they would just sit, and I knew they were there. I was so thankful for them.

Anyway, that's what I learned and was reminded today. Hope I didn't ramble and it all made sense.

Have you read yet today???

A baby girl

Oh, how it makes me smile just typing those words. We are thrilled we will be parents of a baby girl.  Joe has said from day one of this pregnancy that he knew she would be a girl and desired a girl. We think it's so great Owen will be a big brother to a little girl. Someone to watch over, and to protect the rest of his life. He will be a wonderful big brother and I cannot wait to see that relationship develop.  I never really had a guess of what this baby was. I thought at one point I was carrying her similar to Owen and that made me think boy. I always visioned myself as a mom with two boys...I guess God had a better/sweeter vision for me =) Now, that I know I'm going to have a daughter...wow a daughter. I am so excited! I can't wait to see what she will be like, and the live the adventure of being a mom to a boy and a girl.

We decided to find out her gender a little differently than going to our 20 week ultrasound and having the ultrasound tech tell us her gender. My sweet friend Shannon gave me the idea to have the doctor send her the results and she would do something fun for us. Since we were having that ultrasound the first week of December Shannon suggested that she buy something very gender specific, wrap it and give it to us on Christmas Eve, so we could open the results on Christmas morning together as a family. Joe and I loved this idea. So that's just what we did. Let me tell you, it was the sweetest, best idea ever! I loved finding out this way. I can't even put into words how awesome it was. It was joyous. One of the gifts Shannon gave to us was a Christmas ornament with the word JOY on it. It is beautiful and our daughter will have it forever.  It will be such a fun reminder of her each year when we decorate our tree. The other gift she gave was a white onesie with a lower case pink B on it. So cute! I am so appreciative of Shannon and her heart for wanting to do this for us, and making our Christmas so special!

We also have named our sweet girl. We have decided on Selah. We have liked this name for long while now, but have fallen more and more in love with it as my pregnancy has progressed. Here are a few of my favorite meanings of her name: "to weigh or determine the value" "to pause and reflect" "let those with eyes see and with ears hear" "Amen". I love the richness in each of these meanings.


One more thought on having a girl. A friend of mine and I were talking about Selah and the joys of a daughter and she reminded me of this. Boys leave. That makes me so sad to think about, but know one day that will happen with Owen. They leave and cleave. That's how God intended it to be. One of my biggest prayers for Owen is that he does just that. That he love the Lord with all his heart and leads his future wife and children in Him. With a daughter she will always be there. Maybe not physically (like in my case with my mom at this point in my life) but emotionally we will always be connected. I'm very close to my mom and I talk to her about every other day, she is my best friend. I call her about recipes, about raising my child, about successes in marriage, about what I found on sale, about a bad day... We have a special bond. A bond that I pray I will forever have with my Selah. I can't say it enough we are so very excited to meet our baby girl in April!