Welcome to the world...

We received a video from a friend...

A LETTER TO A PERSON ON THEIR FIRST DAY HERE

 

I've seen this little boy in action in other videos he's done...

and watching this video how can a new mama not cry and cheer for her baby all at the same time?

Baylor, you were created by God for this time in history.  There is no one like you! 

He has great and mighty plans for you, and I can't wait to watch them unfold! 

Enjoy each breath He gives you... and enjoy the corndogs too! :)

Love,
Mama

Family of 6

Here with us.

Our sweet baby boy...

Baylor Timothy

Born:  January 12, 2014

at

6:31 PM

Weight:  9 pounds

Length:  20.5inches

For the Mighty One is holy,
    and he has done great things for me.

Luke 1:49



Gratitude

Gratitude is not only a response to God in good times —

it’s ultimately the very will of God in hard times.

Gratitude isn’t only a celebration when good things happen.

It’s a declaration that God is good-

no matter what happens.

~Ann Voskamp

 

 

Giving thanks to Him today...

*A baby that keeps moving... reminding me that everything is OK

*Seeds Family Worship songs in my head when I wake up at night thinking

*A husband who is waiting with me, carrying lots of the stress as he juggles waiting, work, and a rearranged schedule

*Activities to do during open days

*Little rubber bands

*Lists that are done and checked off

*No big snow storms

*Friends who care and listen

*The way his love for letters, numbers, clocks, and calendars keep me smiling all day

*The simple fact that God's timing is perfect

*Laughing at myself as I'm rearranging car seats (again!) at almost 41 weeks pregnant... surely that should start labor?!?

*Lots of extra family time and game nights

*The way my belly shakes when we laugh together

*Little nuggets from God's Word just for me each day

*That He is the God who sees me

*Making this song my anthem the last week... He is with me... ALWAYS!

 

 



While you wait, you might as well have fun!

I've made lists and crossed them off twice.


I've made new lists, and finished those...


I've accomplished "Mission: Rearrange Car Seats in the van" (twice!)


I've finished random projects that have been sitting in the back of closets for the last 2 years...


I've even bought all the supplies to make our Valentine's and some party favors for Kallan's birthday in February...

(scary.... I know!)


It's amazing what you can get done when the calendar is blocked off completely because you really don't know what the next hour will bring... and all you can do is simply wait.


But, while we wait, we have also had some fun!

 

There's been lots of dress up by this beautiful girl!

There have been trips to the Children's Museum...

 And visits to the jungle!

We've seen some serious bracelet making around here by brother, sister, and friends...

 And we even decided to do a family first... Ice Skating!

*note:  Kallan and I did not partake in this fun activity... :)

We had way more fun at the indoor playground next door!

And last but not least... there's been lots of baking!

 Liam made his favorite... Snickerdoodle Brownies!

They didn't last long...

 and we thought we'd share our recipe while we wait...

Snickerdoodle Brownies

2  1/3 c Flour

1  1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

3/4 c Butter, room temperature

1  1/4 c + 2 Tbsp Sugar, divided

1/2 c Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp + 2 tsp Cinnamon (divided)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease the bottom of a 15x10 pan.

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder, and 1 tsp cinnamon.  Stir and set aside.  In your mixing bowl, combine the butter, 1 1/4 c sugar and brown sugar.  Mix until smooth and creamy.  Mix in 3 eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. 

Slowly add the flour mixture and mix well.  Spread the batter in the baking pan. 

In a small dish, combine 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 tsp Cinnamon.  Then sprinkle it all over the top of the batter.  Run a knife through the batter zig-zagging one end to the other, and cross-wise.   Bake for 25 -30 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting.

On Waiting...

Waiting on God is never easy.  It takes your mind to many different places.  It may be doubt, or fear, or even questioning if God sees you?   We are a people who are not good at waiting.  With smart phones, microwaves, and drive through windows, there's not much to wait for anymore.  We call ahead for seating at a restaurant so we won't have to wait, and we grumble at the driver in front of us who doesn't notice that the light has turned green. 

But through different times of waiting during this pregnancy... whether it was before, during, or even now, the waiting has been good.    It has forced me to reaffirm my trust in Who God is and has made me open my hands to what His plans are for me.  Waiting is a tool that God has used to increase and make strong my trust in Him.

Waiting on God means trusting Him with ever fiber of my being instead of trying to figure things out for myself.  Waiting means resting.

Waiting means accepting the limitations of living one day at a time... to be thankful for this day and all God has purposed for it.

Waiting draws my heart to trust Him at all times and in all circumstances... even if I have to repeat, "I trust You, Lord," 100 times over each times my heart falters and fears.

Psalm 27:14 in The Voice Bible states... "Wait for the Eternal in expectation, and be strong."

Expect God to do great things while you wait... and be strong in faith and in trusting your loving God.  For He does great things! 

He is good... and what He does is always good... even when we have to wait for it.

More than a friend...

Not everyone is so blessed to have the type of friend who knows you so well...

Who has a way of bringing courage to the heart and smiles to the days...

Who just knows how to make a day like today that much better...

I am so thankful that I do!

 

Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you
Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been near God
And that's the way it ought to be...

'Cause you've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken the Truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know. 

You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
And all the while I'm hoping that I'll
Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me...
                   

Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know.

And may the blessing return to you a hundredfold...

I love you friend!

~Song by Watermark

How we started our new year...

Nesting.

Looking forward to meeting our Little One soon!

2013... Looking Back

As I was looking back on some of my first journal entries of 2013, I smiled at the fact that the themes on my mind in the beginning of the year, are some of the same themes I'm ending my year on.  The verses I copied down, the words I wrote all seem to be focused on three things.... fear, waiting, and trust.

I think back to where I was the first week of January... the fears in my heart, the unknowns of what this year would bring for our family, the way He was asking me to trust Him in all things.  I had plans and dreams, but what did God have planned for me? 

God had 2013 planned to be one of those years where I will one day look back and see the many ways He worked on my heart.  Is the fact that I'm still struggling with days of not trusting Him as I head into 2014 a failure on my part?  That I'm still writing down some of the same verses at the end of the year that I was in the beginning?  Not at all.  As I look back at the hard days, and sweet days... days I had to fight for joy, and days where hope seemed so far away... those are the days that stick out in my mind as some of the sweetest days from Him.  Where He had to walk so close to me so I could just take the next step.  Even though they were so hard at the time, those are some of the moments I treasure now as I look back on my year.

And now I'm looking into 2014, knowing this will be another year of building my trust and faith in God.  Trusting him as I am mama to 4 little ones, trusting Him with school decisions, trusting Him to guide us at parents as we train up the children He has given to us.  I think God only truly grows our trust in Him by making us walk through those hard days... when we are stripped of ourselves and must fall totally depending on God.

Trust and assurance grows by repeated conflict.  When we have been...

brought very low and helped...

sorely wounded and healed...

cast down and raised again..

 

And when these things have been repeated to us and in us a thousand times over,

we begin to learn to simply trust the Word and Power of God.

~John Newton  

 

I need to remind my heart that things are never out of God's control.  That through the hard days, God's faithful shines and brings me to a place to see His power and sovereignty.  That He is shaping the events in my life in a way that will highlight His faithfulness.  Because that is what He is... faithful. 

 

Faithful to bring me to the other side of this pregnancy.  Faithful to give me all that I need to be a mama to these four little ones.  Faithful to lead us in upcoming school decisions.  Faithful to be there when we don't know how to parent through the challenging days.  Faithful in big things... and as He has shown me in the last few weeks... faithful in even the smallest details of my life.

 

I'm so thankful for all the ways He walked with me through 2013... and I'm even more thankful for the assurance that He will still be my Strength, my Hope, my Confidence, and my Father in 2014. 

 

 



Christmas Morning 2013