The BIG 3-0

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, BABE!! I love you and though I'm thankful for you every day, you're the inspiration for my TT post! :)
I'm thankful for you. Thankful that you're my husband, my hero, my companion, my confidant, my 'soul mate,' my best friend and the father of my children. I'm so excited to share this day with you not only because I'm such a fanatic for special, milestone birthdays (or perhaps any birthday :)) but because it means I've marked another year of my life with the most wonderful man in the world. I can type many words but cannot really evoke through spoken or written word exactly what you mean to me. Quite the conundrum, huh?! That being said, I will do my best. Today marks the 9th birthday I've shared with you- 9 celebrations, 9 cakes, at least 9 gifts, 9 years. Wow, that sounds like a lot doesn't it? Nine Years. And yet, not very many at all. It is, however, 9 wonderful years that have changed my life and I would not change for the world. I am very thankful God has blessed me with you. You are my better half. I pray I'm able to share 9 times 9 more birthdays with you, I love you so much!

Our dog likes to slide

How would one come to this conclusion you ask? Well, we saw some pictures of army dogs and thought it was very cool and super sweet (I did, anyway). One of the exercises to build trust between the dog and the soldier is carrying the dog on your shoulders; so, naturally my husband propped Keenan on his shoulders one day (doubt he could do this with Zoe....she's pretty heavy and would freak out). And what's the next logical step when one has a dog on his shoulders? Why, to put him on the swing set tower of course! Keen Keen glides on down the slide and loves it!

Alright, Zoe, we'll let you try....

 and shockingly she is not loving this

 so Daniel gives her a gentle push- at this point

it's the easiest way to get her down

we showed Will after his nap and he got a kick

out of it

8 awesome months!

Maggie turned 8 months old on the 7th - yes, I know this is late, but alas. What an incredible journey these 8 months have been! Maggie's first appointment with the Physical Therapist at Hand In Hand was late yesterday afternoon and went really well, praise God!!! We have some work to do, which we knew, but are now being given the tools with which to help her. Marliese (PT) was pleased with the work we have done so far and gave us additional pointers- her biggest concern/area for improvement is Maggie working on her midline- think clapping- more coordination is needed than reaching to your side. Marliese said to encourage her to do this by laying her on the boppy pillow to give her arms a head start and hold her hips down because Maggie likes to use her body to get that midline. We're also to have her sit up as much as possible (which we already do) on the floor, in the highchair, in the bumbo to give her different feels and locations for sitting up. She showed us a couple other things, but we're going to start with these and then Marliese will be out to the house next week to show us more.

All that said, God is so good because we can see Him working in Maggie and the healing that's taking place. Thanks so much to our prayer warriors, keep 'em comin'!!!! Through the whole appt., or at least the beginning where the most evaluating took place, Marliese would say I see that she likes to do this (like turn her head to one side or fist her hands) and then almost right after that Maggie would do the other thing (like turn the other way or unfist) and Marliese would say oh she can do that, she is trying, these things aren't integrated (we believe is the word she used.) Basically saying, Maggie is behind, but she's not stuck and is trying to move forward. We're going to give her the tools to do that. She said Maggie is good cognitively and that she's motivated to move- which is one of, if not, the biggest factor in therapy- she said some parents come in and say their kid is just laid back and likes to watch and that's a big problem. And last, but certainly not least, she's confident that Maggie will improve.

In fact, just since her appointment with the state last month (where the evaluation determined whether or not she met the criteria for early intervention) she has improved in many of their concerned areas. Like she was babbling but not saying consonants and now she says b, g and m...still working on mama and dada :) She wasn't reaching midline at all then, but will bring her hands together now, not quite clapping. She passes objects from hand to hand and many other things. These improvements are nothing but the hand of God. We had to do the work, of course, God doesn't make you skinny just 'cause you pray for it, but his healing hand nonetheless. Honestly, Daniel got the feeling that the service coordinator was surprised at some of Maggie's scores from that appointment. BUT if she did think that, it's fair to say Maggie has progressed since then and not necessarily they were too hard. Although, I was surprised she qualified for communication and our service coordinator yesterday agreed. She (Jessica) said that Maggie is very socially aware which is one of the main factors they look for at this age, she won't even receive a speech therapist evaluation until she's at least a year old because it's too early to tell.

We've been praying for healing, well since she was born, but particularly this last week and prayer WORKS! We (especially I) have struggled with many bad days, we are only human, but God has continued to lift our heads up and carry us through the bad days that make the good that much sweeter! Before our appointment yesterday, particularly on the drive there, I prayed for God to give me peace no matter what they 'said' and he gave me that. I just had a feeling that everything was going to go well which did not and could not have come about on my own. Only God can calm my heart like that, I'm a worried mess on my own!!! So, yes, we have work to do and she may be behind for awhile, only time will tell. But the main thing is Maggie is strong cognitively, is motivated and Marliese is confident. I think I can speak on behalf of Daniel and say we were elated; I literally jumped for joy in the parking lot (embarassing him a little I think). We pray our struggles and Maggie's healing will serve to glorify God and further His kingdom; maybe one day her own testimony will bring Maggie humbly to her knees and praise the God who not only saved her life but healed her. Thank you Lord!!

A little about baby Maggie at 8 months:

• still just sweet as can be, she is such a bright light in our life
• so happy, always smiling and laughing
• lights UP when big brother Will and daddy walk in the room, but is still a mommy's girl and wants me most if she gets upset
• getting stronger on her belly and really wants to crawl! She'll rock those hips back and forth if she gets all the way up on her hands
• loves to play with her girly things- dolls, purse, stuffed animals but enjoys brother's action figures if he lets her play with them :)
• sleeps like a dream except when she's teething (nothing popped through the top yet)
• is continually complimented on what a happy, beautiful baby she is (which we think biasely of course:)
• a beautiful picture of God's mercy and grace

I know I say it all the time (about mercy and grace) and I pray you don't have to nearly lose your child and face her possible brain injury to find yourself huddling under the wings of our Saviour but it is life-changing. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes being broken to let him in. And it may sound like a hallmark card but saying you believe in God and truly finding yourself completely humbled and broken and at the end of your rope, understanding how deeply you need a Savior, are completely different. We cannot do this alone. Life and Christianity are hard and we are a sinful people, being Christian in no way means you're perfect, just that you see and understand your imperfections and know that Jesus Christ came and died to save you from those transgressions you are completely incapable of saving yourself from. NOTHING else in my life has brought about this understanding for me the way Maggie's birth has. And that's why I say she's a beautiful picture of mercy and grace.

Mercy: God's goodness toward those in misery and distress

Grace: God's unmerited favor and blessings through Christ freely extended to people who deserve His wrath (that's all of us folks)

Happy Anniversary

Daniel,

Six years ago I made the best decision of my life: to marry you. I was excited about the wedding, most brides are, and while it still ranks as one of the best days of my life, the preceding days that led into weeks that led into months that led in to years have been just as wonderful or better. We have grown so much in God and our strengthening faith has strengthened us. We are different people, I think, than when we said 'I do' (or perhaps it was 'I will') and while some days have been better and some have been worse - that was part of the vows after all :) - May 14, 2005 was the beginning of our life together. As a married couple. As one. The past six years has brought about a lot of love, two beautiful children, a lot of laugther, joy, and some tears and some strife. But through all the better and all the worse, a little baby relationship has blossomed into a beautiful, meaningful, mature and healthy marriage. I am so grateful God brought you into my life and has left you here. I would not be who I am today without you and our joining together. You are my constant, steady, loving, faithful, compassionate, hilarious, beautiful husband and I could not and do not want to imagine my life without you by my side. This past year has shown me more than ever that God is so good and knew what he was doing when he gave you to me. I'm certain we'll have more trials in the near and distant future and feel so secure in the knowledge that you'll be with me through it all. Thank you so much for being you. I love you more than words can say! Happy six years babe, I pray we have many many many more to share.

1yr

2yrs

3yrs

4yrs

 5yrs

6yrs

Mother's Day

Today was my 4th mother's day and 1st with two kids! Daniel took Will shopping yesterday because waiting 'til the last minute is his style and because Will can't keep a secret. First thing he said to me when he walked in the door was "we got you a movie mom!" Haha...Daniel was not very happy about this, "we just got done talking about this in the car, Will. You can't tell mommy what we got her." Good thing was he didn't know or couldn't remember which movie they bought and kept telling me it was Megamind or Madagascar. He also asked me all night if I was ready to open my presents. He was excited and it was sweet.

This morning Daniel had a sweet and very meaningful happy mother's day blog post open on my computer with my gifts on my desk.Will helped me open his gift, Tangled which I almost bought Maggie for Easter just 'cause I kinda wanted it. :) Then he helped me open a Cricut Essentials value pack for the Cricut Expression! The machine has shipped but won't arrive 'til next week and I'm super excited. I have wanted one of these for years...a scrapbooker's dream machine and it's not limited to scrapbooking, but any craft you can think of! And the sweetest part is Daniel used money from his game fund to pay for it. Such sacrificial love my husband has for me, I love you babe!!!

I missed what Daniel said was the part of the church service I really would've liked because I was paged to get Maggie. She wanted some alone time with mommy for Mother's Day, haha! Every year Buddy honors the mothers by having us all stand and then sit according to age so the last mom standing is the oldest. Then in honor of all mothers, the oldest one in the service receives a rose (or two as sometimes there's a tie). Anyway, this year he did something different...said the old ladies were fighting in the halls (a joke).... so he had all the women stand because even if some women aren't moms, many are spiritual 'moms' within the church. Daniel said he explained further after I left and he would've like me to hear it, but my beautiful baby girl needed mommy and she's my gift from God, along with Will, so I was answering the call!

The weather was warm and beautiful and we enjoyed a nice lunch at Dale's Southern Grille where they gifted me a bookmark and a free red velvet cupcake. Not my favorite kind of cake, so Daniel and Will ate most of it. After nap time we watched Tangled and took a walk to the neighborhood park where Will met a new friend and we saw our friend, Brett, who we rarely see due to traveling. The kids were cranky (seriously) which is possibly becoming a trend...Will was very cranky on my 2nd mother's day due to teething. And I did try to take a nap but overall it was a delightful day and I wouldn't change a thing!! Well, it would be nice for us to see our moms but since mother's day is on Sunday and we live it out town, that makes things difficult. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there...I hope you had a wonderful day too!

Thankful Thursday...a day late

I didn't have time to blog yesterday, but since my husband made a point to comment about my lack of TT, I'm posting a day late and am going to write as if it were Thursday.

Today I'm thankful for two things (well a lot actually, but I'll focus on two). First and to a lesser extent, electricity. Only a week ago we were without it and I thought I could get some things done around the house without the distraction of computer or TV (we don't watch it much, but still). Then I quickly realized there wasn't much I could do in a modern age without electricity. No vacuuming, laundry, running the dishwasher (though I could hand wash dishes- yay!) or a host of other duties. Gone are the days of handwashing clothes in a water basin with a wash board and hanging them to dry. No plunging and scrubbing-- as I learned from Far and Away-- just the push of a button (essentially).
Going off topic for a moment: why then with all our modern conveniences-- to make life easier and create more time for ourselves (as if that's truly possible)-- are we more distracted than ever? Perhaps it's because the conveniences. Aha! Exactly what are these conveniences freeing us up for? I did use some of my powerless 34 hours to catch up on bible reading- why can't I do that  anyway? 'Cause I'm blogging...
I digress. Back to point one. I'm grateful to the hard workers of the power company for getting us up and running so quickly! Quite an amazing feat considering the circumstances surrounding the outage. I'm thankful today not only that my electricity is on but that I can afford such a luxury.

 (when it came back on)

Second and more important is seeing the hands and feet of God in motion. There is such a strong sense of community around here and so many people are lending a hand to move debris, donate clothes, food, water, baby items, cooking and serving hot meals to those affected by last week's tornados. THIS is God's glory being shown in the midst of tragedy! Again, why does it take something this monstrous to wake us up? Why does only major destruction and heartache lead a community to reach out a helping hand? And that's not to say we never help each other, but these needs existed before last Wednesday and will continue to exist well beyond the rebuilding of these communities and lives. Why, especially as Christians, do we not answer this call EVERY DAY?!!!! I mean yea, we help people and donate money, clothes, etc. But not with the urgency that we feel after something like this.
I digress again. I am still so excited to see God's people at work through this... so many working tirelessly to help those in need especially when they're not doing it to call attention to themselves. This is what Christ's teachings are about and it's wonderful to see it in action.

Will's words

April 26-
W: I do not like poopin at daddy's office. Only at home

W: therrrrre aaaarrrreee treees in the sky aaaaand moooooon.
Took me a few minutes to figure out he was singing "Seven Bridges Road" by the Eagles because Maggie was crying. When she's upset, we play this song and she calms down right away. I finally figured it out because he sang very close to the beat of the song. Not sure how there are stars in the southern sky translates to trees in the sky and moon but super sweet nonetheless.

May 1-
Will takes a drink of my shake...can I have another drink?
Me: sure honey
W: that was soooo good mommy. I love it!

Yesterday-
Me: show me your muscles!
flexes them....pause....
W: my muscles are hurting me
M: how are they hurting you?
W: don't know!

Last night at dinner-
W: thank you, you got hurt. amen
D: are you praying to Jesus?
W: yes
AWESOME

Today-
W: I'm stronger than two tornadoes!
Me: two?
W: Yea, I punch them (punches the air with look of indignation)
M: You'll punch the tornadoes?
W: yea and say "don't break those houses!"
Oh my word, he is so funny and sweet at the same time. The innocence of a child...actually thinking punches could stop a tornado. He feels so bad people lost their houses...so sweet.

W: I gotta go to school tomorrow
Me: You do? When did this happen?
W: Yea, I gotta go to school. Like Kyle. Sorry mom.
M: It's ok, I'll be fine. What are you gonna learn?
W: I gotta go to make money
M: (laughing) you don't make money at school, you learn things
W: No! I make money!!
This is particularly funny because Will has been asking repeatedly why daddy has to go to work every day. And we just broke it down: look, our food, house, electricity, etc. cost money and daddy has to work to make the money to pay for these things. Now he'll often say, "you go to work to pay money daddy?" LOL, I don't think anyone would go for that deal.

May 8-
W: Maggie, did you know trash trucks pick up trash?
VERY vital information for a baby to learn! haha

Will is such a character. I love my little man...he keeps the mood light that's for sure. When he's not in trouble, that is.