Baby Shower

What a blessing to celebrate Emilee's life with friends and family this weekend. It was a wonderful day full of lots of special memories. Thank you to everyone who made it possible!

Rah Rah made the cake, of course


The shower hostesses


The pregnant momma


Shelby, my sister in law, and I


My nana, my momma, my little sister and me

Thoughts from the Pregnant Momma, Again

Wow, the last few weeks have been a trying experience for me physically and emotionally. Lots of tears have been shed out of pure exhaustion and frustration and I know I have been terribly hard to live with! ( Please pray for my husband!) But here we go, just trucking along counting down the days until Emilee arrives.
I had a Dr appointment today and all still looks really good. Blood pressure and everything look normal and all my other "issues" just go with the territory. After our 3D sonogram when they told us she was a big baby already, we went to the Dr a little concerned about her size. Her reassured us that they always measure big there, not to worry. He was wondering about the last sonogram I had at his office because they hadn't put an estimated due date on it, based off her measurements. He knew that I had been measuring big but it was up in the air whether I was really due on November 17th. Now, I know it is crazy...what is a few days in the grand scheme of 40 weeks, but it brought me a little joy to hear him say we could move my due date up! So now my due date is November 12th, yipee, a whole 5 days! But hey, I'll take what I can get! Makes it seem not quite so far away!
I have been in the process of washing up all the bargins I found this summer at garage sales and trying to figure out how to organize her room. I love to sit in here and look at all the things hanging in the closet and know that in a few weeks I will be holding my sweet little girl in my arms! I am truly blessed.

Teaching Thankfulness

How, as a parent, do you teach thankfulness to your children? That has been on my mind and heart for some time now and I struggle to find an answer. We have strived to teach them that all that we are given is from God and that He deserves to be thanked and praised for that which He has blessed us with. We pray each night with them about something they can thank God for and yet, I feel, it is never enough.
I know they are small, and I am the grown-up, but I get so tired of the requests/whines for more. More TV time, more computer time, I want to go here, I want surprises, I want a friend to come over....it is exhausting to hear it all day, every day. I have tried to explain that not every minute of every day is for their idea of fun...and yet it never ends.
I wonder how much of that I taught them. Don't get me wrong I am thankful and I mean truly thankful, but aren't my prayers of Thanksgiving followed by requests that those things be better? Maybe, just maybe, it is me that needs a change of heart and attitude. If I am modeling an attitude of contentment they will begin to pick that up, right?
I don't know, I was just wondering.

The Unseen War

We just finished week 2 in our sermon series on the Unseen War, also known as Spiritual Battles. I must admit that I have been looking forward to this series as it has been promoted because I have seen our adversary, the devil, try and do a number on me more than once.
I was amazed to learn in yesterday's sermon that (I hope I quote this right) only 27% of believers believe that satan is alive and active today. I was shocked, I guess, to hear that statistic. Do I think that satan is way over-blamed in some ways, yes I do. But I know that he is alive and active and seeking to destroy us. He hates our faith, he hates our marriages, our families, our children and he wants nothing more than to destroy them all. He lies to us in our thought lives and he thrives when we are alone, in the dark, depressed or anxious.
I have seen first hand how he takes our fears and runs. After our accident, there was not one road-trip that I took that he didn't strive to bring that fear to me in ridiculous ways. Whether it was a semi trying to pass and being reckless, to an accident or two every trip. It would immediately take me back to our accident and I would come home a disaster. Until one trip to KC, that I will never forget. My sweet husband, listens to sermons and podcasts at work and he had just finished one of Chip Ingram's on Spiritual Warfare. We were driving to KC and he said he wanted me to listen to it so we started it. About that time the kids just went to nuts and so I tended to them and we actually had to listen to it again so I could hear it (another one of satan's distractions). As I listened that day in the car it all fit together, I was under attack in that area and I recognized it. Here is where it gets really ridiculous. As we approached the neighborhood where Ian and I lived, those feelings started in me. I hadn't been by there at all since we had left but we had to in order to get to where we were going. Right before the corner where we turned there was a big wreck, I started to cry...Robert started to pray. As we both recognized what was going on, I really began to see this battle as real. Then we turned at the light and at the next block what do you think we saw? That's right, another accident. At this point I was laughing through the tears as Robert and I joined together and laughed. That was when I saw first hand that he is living and active. Since then there have only been a few times that we have seen that as we travel. I am thankful that God always wins. He has already fought the battle and won, He is the key to winning.
My mother-in-love :) sent this little cheat sheet to me one day when I was struggling and I want to share it with you all. It is how to determine if it is God's voice we are listening to.

God's voice stills me......Satan's voice rushes me
God's voice leads me.....Satan's voice pushes me
God's voice reassures me....Satan's voice frightens me
God's voice enlightens me....Satan's voice confuses me
God's voice encourages me....Satan's voice discourages me
God's voice comforts me.....Satan's voice worries me
God's voice calms me.....Satan's voice obsesses me
God's voice convicts me.....Satan's voice condemns me

This is something that I go back to a lot when I am struggling. As you go about your day or your week just be aware and mindful, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Emilee in 3D

When the idea was brought up to have a 3D sonogram, I had no idea what to expect. I agreed purely because any mommy would give anything to see that little baby inside! So we scheduled the sonogram on the weekend of Megan's birthday so that all our family could be here.
It was an amazing experience to say the least. It made it all so real to me to see her little face on the big screen and watch her move around. She was really stubborn and wouldn't move her hands away from her face but we still got some good shots of her full lips and little nose. They said she had a lot of hair and that she weighed about 4 lbs. They couldn't measure her because she was folded up like a taco, with her feet up by her head.
I think the neatest part was when the technician told Robert to talk to her so she would move her hands. When he started to talk she moved her head and even furrowed her brow! It was so cool!
All in all it was a fantastic experience and such a neat time for our families to be in there together. Here are a few of the better pictures that they got.















I wish I could figure out how to put the video on here for all you family members far away, but I am not that good:) This will have to do for now! Enjoy!

Megan's 7th Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Megan's 7th Birthday a few weekends ago. Always a joy to be with family and friends!

Rah Rah made her cake again this year and she did a great job as always!


The Littlest Pet Shop Cake


Papa found her a birthday girl crown for her to wear!


Opening presents is always fun!


Every girl needs a lip gloss for everyday of the week!


Daddy was so excited about his present for her, and as you can see so was she.


A pretend hamster complete with a wheel and cage, what more could you want?


You think she likes it?


Blowing out the candles, make a wish...


Happy Birthday Big Girl we love you so much!

Wordless Wednesday- I Love My Lips

Thanks to Matt and Rah Rah for finding the coolest suckers of all time for the kids! Too cute!