Thoughts for Thursday

Lately I've been updating pictures and stories of our lives, but today I'm reflecting on some things and all of the sudden I feel compelled to share with everyone.
So here I am, sitting here contemplating a conversation that Bill and I had yesterday about accountability. We were talking about when you have someone sitting in front of you asking you questions and there will be times that you do something even when you don't want to and even with the wrong motivation just because you don't want to tell someone that you failed. I brought up the point that yes I think we need accountability. It is such an important part of life. I know personally when I have someone sitting in front of me asking questions that I do better when I know someone is going to hold me accountable. What is blowing my mind is that God asks us to do little things like love Him more than anything else in the world. If I am really honest with myself can I say that I love God more than anything? Probably not. The desire is there, the motivation is there, but where I fail is getting into the daily routine of living life and incorporating God as I go throughout my daily life. As Bill is has studying the Scriptures about how to raise a child to love God, he keeps finding the phrase "as you go." As I go through my daily life I am supposed to teach Isaac how to love God with all of his heart, to grow in a relationship with Christ, not just pray a prayer and do it because Mommy and Daddy do. What an daunting task. An overwhelming, mind blowing task if you think about it. How can I teach Isaac to love God more than anything if it's something that I struggle to do. Again, I think if we are completely honest with ourselves, especially when you have a family that there is a times that you have struggled to love God more than anything. I guess all of my thoughts boil down to this. If I balance my checkbook, eat certain foods, workout or avoid certain TV shows that aren't the best for me to watch just because someone is going to ask me if I did these things and I don't want to disappoint them, why can't I love God with everything I have AND love Him more than anything I have. Why is it not okay for me to disappoint a friend, but it's okay for me to disappoint God every day.
God has just hit me in the face the last few days (well not literally). I feel like he's been asking me, Anne do you love me more than you love anything else? Do you love me more than you love Bill? Do you love me more than you love Isaac? I kind of feel like Peter when Jesus asks Peter if he love Him and Peter of course answers yes. I answer those questions with a firm yes. I love you Lord more than anything. His response is, then why don't you crave to spend time with me like you do Bill, or Isaac, or sadly enough your computer and Facebook? I hate it when God convicts you like this. When you feel as though you've literally been spanked. So my goal for this week is not just to love God, but love Him more than anything else. What does that look like for me? I'm not exactly sure, yet. I do know that I've made a conscience effort to spend time with God before I pick up my computer every day. It's sad that my computer has becoming a stumbling block, but it's true.
I guess I leave this post today with a question. Do you love God more than anything else in the world?

I haven't been that good lately on updating

So I haven't had that much time to update lately or I haven't made the time, I'm not that sure.
Last week I wasn't feeling so hot. The doctor said the cartilage that connect my ribs to my breast bone was inflamed causing a huge amount of pain every time I took a breath or moved. Least to say it wasn't the best few days, but we're surviving. I think the only thing that really suffered was my house because I couldn't pick up anything heavy. Today I was determined to get my house clean and for the most part, it's acceptable for someone to stop by now and for me not to be completely embarrassed. It was nice for Bill to have a four day weekend. I really enjoyed having him home.
Well, new in the world of Isaac...he is holding his own bottle now which I really like! The only problem he has is when he gets distracted he drops his bottle and he can't quite find it again. He has also had his first stomach bug this week. He has been in the best of moods though. He's thoroughly enjoying his Pedialyte with more sugar than he's ever experienced in his little life. He has no problem sucking that down and we've found that grape is his favorite.
I will say that the more I talk to other mom's, I find I have the best baby in the world. He eats every four hours, takes 3 two hour naps a day, sleep 9-10 hours at night. He is so wonderful. He hardly ever cries (except when he's hungry or he thinks he's alone). He is such a good boy. He's all about running errands and going shopping. I think he just likes to see all the new things. He never makes a peep while we're out, even if it's time to eat. I am pretty sure I have the best little boy. And that smile is more than I can handle sometimes because it's so adorable.
Well, here are a few pictures after catching you up on our lives.

Isaac's Dedication

Let me first start with some background that make sense when I finish this story. A year ago on Friday we found out the we were going to be having a baby. We we elated with joy as most couple are when they find out their first child was on the way. Not knowing what this pregnancy would hold or what would happen in the next 9 months Bill and I both agreed that this child was God's child. He was only on loan to us for a short time from God. However since Isaac was born this concept is a little harder to accept. Okay, I know he's God, but it's hard not to say but he's my baby. Today, a little over a year later we publicly gave Isaac to the Lord. It was such a surreal moment. It was so neat (I can't think of a better description) to know that 5 families stood before God and their church and publicly committed to praying for their children and promised to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. What a wonderful blessing. We had to go through a baby dedication class where Pastor John talked about the importance of praying for our children, how to pray for our children, and how to consider them a blessing. He laughed and said I know it's hard to consider them a blessing when they've screamed all night. Oh that's so true.
But I thought I would share some pictures for the day.

Adorable Pictures

So I'm counting down to my 100th post. Can you believe it's already been that many? Including this post, I have 5 to go.

I thought I would post some pictures for today. Isaac has just been so cute lately making the most adorable faces and sounds. I don't have any videos this week, but lost of pictures. The last few are him in his Dedication outfit as he will be publicly dedicated to the Lord on Sunday. One year ago on Friday we found out that Isaac was on the way. That day we both decided that he was God's, not ours. He's only on loan to us. As hard as that is to accept some days knowing that he's really not mine, he's only on loan, I know that God has such major things in store for him. Bill and I were talking today, wondering what God's plan for Isaac will be. We are so excited to see what God has in store for Isaac.

Here are some pictures for this week.

Happy Mother's Day

So here we are, another Mother's Day but this one is very different for me. It's the first time I'm able to celebrate Mother's Day as a mother. It was the most amazing feeling to be able to stand when they asked all the mothers at church to stand this morning. I almost cried I was so happy. This might not make any sense, but I just keep thinking that last Mother's day I was so sad because it was another Mother's Day without a baby. Even though I was up at 4:30 the smile I got when I picked Isaac up made it worth it. Well, after a short nap before church the smile was amazing. I love me little man, but he's an early riser, no doubt about it.
Also today was another first. Bill preached his first sermon at Emmanuel! Pastor John started a new series last week on the family, Bill preached this week, Brade preacher next week, then Pastor Jerry and Pastor John will finish it up. I must say, and I know I'm bias, Bill did an amazing job. I was so proud of him. I sat there during the first service just thinking, that's my husband!!!! I felt like a pastor wife today which is a very weird feeling I must say. It was even weirder sitting on the front row. I am definitely a back row baptist. I sat in the front for two reasons, one I had to sing in the praise team and I hate walking to and from the back, plus if I sat in the front I couldn't go check on Isaac in the nursery. Yes, there are many times that I leave him in the nursery and then check on him. Our good friends, the Coopers, kept Isaac on Friday night so we could have a short date night. I did better this time, I didn't cry when we left. I was very anxious and after about an hour I was ready to get back to my little man. I'm getting better when I leave him it's just so hard to leave him because I'm with him all the time.
So, my Mother's Day has been amazing. The first of many amazing to come. If you want to check out Bill's sermon click here. The sermon should be up some time on Tuesday! He did an amazing job.

Here are a few pictures from our Mother's Day luncheon.

Prayer request

I feel very overwhelmed to ask my friends to pray for my cousin Nikki. Her husband Beau just had his second brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and is suffering from some side effect from the surgery. They are away from their family and are going through a very difficult time. Please pray for them as well as their two children.

4 months old today

So i started a blog last night that turned into a huge thing. I actually put in in a word document and it ended up being 3 pages single space, so I decided not to share my inter most, not to mention incredibly long, thoughts with you. However I will share just a quick second on my reflections. When a holiday approaches I always tend to think about how things were last year or the year before. All I can think and laugh about now from last year is that Mother's Day was one of the saddest days I had lived through in a while. Yet again I was not a mother. I knew God had a plan, but it seemed like every Mother's Day that passed without a baby was harder. Little did I know that I was already a mother. I was several weeks pregnant and didn't know it. Isn't it funny how we go through days of sadness and have a difficult time looking at the good things in our lives and we focus on sadness. Not saying that we can't be sad, because it's going to happen. Often though I let my circumstances steel my joy. In the first chapter of James, he says "consider all joy." I've always struggled with the difference between joy and happiness. Circumstances can steel your happiness, but should never hide your true joy in Christ. If we're honest I'm sure that we've all let our circumstances hide our true Joy. God provides in HIS timing. Whatever it is, His timing is best.

So on to the less serious stuff of life.....
Today Isaac is 4 months old. He's rolling over, trying his best to sit up and even figured out that if he pushed his feet hard enough when he's on his belly that he can move. Boy am I in for an active baby. We were supposed to go to the doctor on Monday for his 4 months check up but he broke out in a rash that only got worse after two days so they said to bring him in. They said it didn't sound like chicken pox, but you never know. So, off to Dr. Schultz we went. He checked him over, he now weighs 13 lbs 9.5 ounces and is 24 and 3/4 inches long. I knew he had gotten taller. Not much longer and he'll be taller than Mommy. Dr. Schultz did say that he has eczema and to stop using lotion and use oil. My question is how do you hold a baby that has now been covered with baby oil. All I have to say is use caution as they are very slippery :-) The best thing he said is that Isaac is moving right along schedule and seems to meet all of the developmental milestones that he should at this point. Hoorah for Isaac. Also to Isaac's excitement, the doctor said he was ready for food. He's completely master the art of cereal, even to the point of shoving my hand in his mouth with the spoon if I'm not moving fast enough for him. So last night he got his first taste of Sweet Potatoes. The first bite was hilarious. But he liked them. I'll try to post a video so you can see.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your mother's day even if you aren't a mother yet.

My God is Mighty

So here I am once again in awe of what a mighty God I serve. There are so many reasons why He is so amazing, yet today he specifically reminded me of this. Like most of the people I know these days money is tight. Having a new baby and only one of us working, money is very tight. I feel as though most day all I get in the mail is bills, especially doctor bills. Early this morning I was just thinking about my bill from the hospital. I called last month because they said they thought we were eligible for financial assistance. Bill and I were so happy, I even said if it's $500 that would make a huge difference. I was told not to pay anything until I got a new bill which they send out on the 30th of the month. I hadn't received my new bill yet and was thinking I should call today to make sure there wasn't something wrong with the bill or they had sent me to collections because it wasn't paid in full. Today we got a bill. I was dreading opening it because I knew it should include the assistance, but had the attitude of I'll be paying this one off for a while as the total was over $2600. As I checked the mail during dinner tonight I opened the bill and was overwhelmed when I saw that the new bill was only $154. This is my total hospital stay including Isaac's bill and a trip to the ER the week before Isaac's birth. Before insurance (thank God for insurance) our bills were over $50,000 because I had to have a C-section. Even though I know that God is so big I sometimes forget how incredibly huge He is. I can't tell you how much of a relief that is to me as that was such a huge financial burden. Even though there are still a numerous amount of medical bills to pay which will get paid off one day, this was the largest by far and God totally took care of it.
I am reminded every day of what an amazing God I serve. I know that I'm going on and on but I am so overwhelmed by God's grace , His guidance, His forgiveness and His provision. He gives me so much more than I deserve. I'm totally in awe of who He is and how wonderful He is I can't even express my thoughts right now.

Story of the day

Because the face you see above is so adorable, it's hard to stay frustrated for long.

My usually very good sleeper has changed his sleeping pattern, which I'm not complaining about at all. He went from taking 2 very long naps (usually 2-3 hours) a day to taking 3 naps about an hour or so long. This is nice because when I want to go somewhere and he's just laid down I don't have to wait 3 hours to go. He take his last nap around 5 or 6 and I wake him up around 7:30 feed him let him play and he goes to bed around 9:00. Tonight was no exception. He got up about 7:30, ate cereal and a bottle and hung out with Daddy while I went to take a nice hot bath. Daddy brought him up about 8:30 because he was tired and I thought I'd give him a bath because he was really sticky. Usually this knocks him out, he's so tired after baths. I put him down around 8:45 and listened to him "talk" and fuss till almost 9:45, checking on him often of course to make sure he was okay. About 9;45 Mom was tired of getting up every time he yelled so I caved and picked him up to go rock him. The little stinker was asleep before I got to the rocking chair. The rocking chair is literally about 4 steps away from the crib. He's such a little stinker. But he's down now. Fortunately this new sleeping pattern has almost eliminated him getting up at 5:45 for the day which I am very thankful for.
After talking to some other moms at church Sunday I am realizing how lucky I am and that I have an amazing little baby who is so good. One mom said her 9 month old still only sleeps 4 hours at the most. She said she's up about every 3 hours. I think I would cry if he was still up that much. I need my sleep. Does that sound horrible as a Mom? I hope not. If I don't sleep I get sick and grouchy. I'm honestly surprised that I went 3 months on such little sleep and didn't alienate everyone in my life. The only thing that my Dad told Bill before we got married was that Bill needed to make sure I got my sleep because I wasn't a nice person if I didn't sleep. That is so true. But God is good and through a lot of prayer and taking time to think before I spoke I don't think I was that bad. Maybe I was and nobody told me. I'm just thankful to be getting 6-7 straight hours of sleep a night. God always gives your strength.

It's official

And no I'm not pregnant again. That's been the big joke around the church. But not the case.

I officially have my Master's Degree. After 16 months of hard work, working full time, going to school full time and being pregnant for 9 months of that, I finally finished and received my diploma last week.
Honestly it was a very surreal moment. I know that I finished all my coursework in December and received an email the day before Isaac was born that my degree had been conferred but in the excitement of having Isaac, receiving my degree was down on the list until my diploma arrived last week. So it's here and I'm done with school for good. No more for me. I learned so much and am very thankful that I received my degree and only paid for my books. God always has such and interesting way of revealing a plan. That's the way it was for my degree. I really had no desire to do Grad work, but then Bill was finished with both of his and we were still in Lynchburg, so I though why not? It's free. One day I just said, hey I'm going to do this. The next thing I know I was finished. Okay there was a little more work involved and a lot more stress, but it's done. God is so good. I officially have a Master of Arts in Theological Studies with a concentration in Counseling.

New Toy

Mommy bought me a JumperRoo today and I love it. I can move around and bounce up and down. I think I so big! My new JumperRoo plays music and lights up. I'm mesmerized by the red and green lights. I just bounce up and down and make lots of noise. I have so much fun! Here are some pictures. Pay special attention to my tongue.




AWWWWWW this lights up!!!!

How does it do that?

What is this?

I have to stick my tongue out to get this.

Concentrate.....concentrate....