Hello Everyone!
Wow! It's been a crazy couple of months. I just spent over an hour working on organizing photos that I had randomly placed in my computer just to get them off the card.. not as safe to store there. The Lord has been working in miraculous ways in our lives. There is so much I want to share, but really doubt I have that much more nap time, but I wanted to get some pictures on for your viewing pleasure. I wanted to thank you for your prayers during these first few months with Brantley. They have been such a blessed and wonderful time. I find myself having to be more organized and yet more flexible. Which is really a strange combination. The biggest thing to mention is the move on our hearts lately in regards to ministry. When people asked, "what are you going to seminary for?". We would say, "missions". Well, we both feel the Lord is going to lay out more of His plan for us in the next year. We have already begun to see some defintion on things. We are starting to consider things that Mac and I have PASSIONATELY said, "NO WAY!" to. I should have known not to be so passionately against anything. Because our most recent conversations have been geared toward thinking, praying and gathering LOTS of information about such things. I apologize for the vagueness, but I do ask that you would pray for us as we continue to define these things in our lives. We are under some time restraints and feel the Lord will really reveal some stuff in the next few weeks. PLEASE pray hard for us during this time that we will make all the decisions that GOD wants us to make on FAITH.. not on what we know or can see.
Vivian update: She is entering a whole new era of her life. She is SO imaginative. The stories she tells and the imaginative play.. ROCKS!!! It is so incredibly cute. She is more enthralled that ever with books. Her favorite story is from the Bible and she asks to read it EVERY day.. it is the story of the Fall of man in Genesis.. in the Beginner's Bible it is called the Sneaky Snake. It has been a very timely interest as we continue to see more of her sinful nature come out in what most would call the "terrible two's". I am hesitant to call it that in that it truly is balanced with so much good and cuteness. She is developing more of her personality and learning so much every day! She is quite the talker and loves to have very grown-up conversations. We are learning that it is our journey and walk with the Lord that is the best teacher for her. Talking to her about our weakness and confessing sin in prayer with her has been such a wonderful time that God truly takes something bad and turns it into something wonderful. She is getting extremely good at going to the potty. As Elmo says, "listen to your body, otherwise you might have an accident". We say that alot these days.
Brantley update: He is cooing and smiling.. it will steal any heart that is close by. He is still very laid back, but developing his own personality in what he likes and doesn't like. He hold very cute conversation with us in his own precious language. He is starting to reach for things and LOVES to look and listen to his sister.. as she loves to be with him!
Mac update: Still plugging away at Seminary and Work and Family. We are both working on getting back into shape with regular exercise and diet. He is off for Spring Break, so we are LOVING the time together.
Dawn update: Learning so much. LOVING being a mommy more and more everyday! I am starting to put flyers up to try to start tutoring. I am exercising and dieting... lifestyle changing as Weight Watchers would say. We are truly doing that. The Lord is getting my attention in so many areas. I find myself busier than I have ever been. One child always seems to need my attention and many times both at the same time, but we are all learning a little patience.
So, all that to say.. God has been so faithful and we praise Him for all the blessings He has given us in so many ways. Now for some pictures.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
A month of fun and excitement!
This last month has been a journey. Vivian has been learning what it means to be a big sister. I think she likes and has adjusted to the idea.. in most ways. She had the most trouble with the idea of Brantley sleeping in our room, but she is at peace with that. For a while, she was getting up more than Brantley, every night. Mac and I are learning teamwork on a whole new level. Going to the store is a true planned event. We go through a checklist of items.. and yet we still forget things. It's truly amazing the brainpower parents have to use having 2 kids. I can't even imagine how 3+ kids would look like. We are loving every minute of it!
Brantley has started to develop his personality. He is still incredibly laid back... as he proved again today as his sister piled blankets and clothes on top of him in the swing and he just sat there and didn't make a peep. Mac is a WONDERFUL father. I love watching him be this amazing man, who loves his kids with truly an awesome love that can only come from the Lord. He is such a willing servant to myself and the kids. Can you tell I am proud to have him as my husband? It's really amazing when you go through times like this you realize just how much the Lord has prepared your path for the journey you are on. We had an incident last weekend. The faucet mounted water filter started spraying water after we went to bed and flooded most rooms in our house. Praise the Lord Brantley woke us up at 2. We didn't have damage to our furniture, but the flooring was toast. Housing sent in a crew on Monday morning to rip up all the carpet in the apartment.. which you guessed it.. everything had to be moved. We threw stuff in crates and in 2 days redid all the flooring in our apartment. We are still going through stuff, but it has been another grand opportunity to purge. We LOVE our new floors. We have laminate flooring in most of the living areas and halls and the bedrooms have a great burbur carpet. It is truly a blessing in disguise. I could tell you so many things that as we were doing this crazy event how the Lord had prepared us for it. Small things that you take for granted, but were so crucial. For example, the fact that we had purged TONS of stuff this summer in prep. for the baby and had tons of containers.. that were very handy for getting our stuff in moveable form. Also, Mac had borrowed a carpet cleaner to do our floors and we were able to get excess water up to prevent damaging furniture. It is just awesome how the Lord has given strength beyong comprehension and peace in chaos. Normally, this kind of event would have sent Vivian into what I affectionately call "chaos mode". But she handled it beautifully. In fact, she continued to come back to normal during this time. It really has made us all closer. If you would have told me 2 weeks ago that ripping out all the carpets in the house would be a blessing, I would have laughed. Now I rejoice at what a powerful wonderful God we serve. Brantley has also handled it well. I will post pictures of our new floors after we finish unpacking, but I did want to get some pictures of the last month up for you to see.
Brantley has started to develop his personality. He is still incredibly laid back... as he proved again today as his sister piled blankets and clothes on top of him in the swing and he just sat there and didn't make a peep. Mac is a WONDERFUL father. I love watching him be this amazing man, who loves his kids with truly an awesome love that can only come from the Lord. He is such a willing servant to myself and the kids. Can you tell I am proud to have him as my husband? It's really amazing when you go through times like this you realize just how much the Lord has prepared your path for the journey you are on. We had an incident last weekend. The faucet mounted water filter started spraying water after we went to bed and flooded most rooms in our house. Praise the Lord Brantley woke us up at 2. We didn't have damage to our furniture, but the flooring was toast. Housing sent in a crew on Monday morning to rip up all the carpet in the apartment.. which you guessed it.. everything had to be moved. We threw stuff in crates and in 2 days redid all the flooring in our apartment. We are still going through stuff, but it has been another grand opportunity to purge. We LOVE our new floors. We have laminate flooring in most of the living areas and halls and the bedrooms have a great burbur carpet. It is truly a blessing in disguise. I could tell you so many things that as we were doing this crazy event how the Lord had prepared us for it. Small things that you take for granted, but were so crucial. For example, the fact that we had purged TONS of stuff this summer in prep. for the baby and had tons of containers.. that were very handy for getting our stuff in moveable form. Also, Mac had borrowed a carpet cleaner to do our floors and we were able to get excess water up to prevent damaging furniture. It is just awesome how the Lord has given strength beyong comprehension and peace in chaos. Normally, this kind of event would have sent Vivian into what I affectionately call "chaos mode". But she handled it beautifully. In fact, she continued to come back to normal during this time. It really has made us all closer. If you would have told me 2 weeks ago that ripping out all the carpets in the house would be a blessing, I would have laughed. Now I rejoice at what a powerful wonderful God we serve. Brantley has also handled it well. I will post pictures of our new floors after we finish unpacking, but I did want to get some pictures of the last month up for you to see.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year
We are having fun adjusting to Brantley moving in. Today, I, Dawn, had the chance to experience what so many people have warned me about in having a boy. I was changing his diaper and all of a sudden the poop was coming out everywhere, so I started troubleshooting to minimize the mess and all of a sudden out of no where pee was flying EVERYWHERE. I do mean flying. It was nuts! I just had to laugh it was crazy! He is definately fun to have around. I just can't seem to kiss him enough. He is such a cutie! Vivian is adjusting well. We have had lots of opportunities to talk to her about when she was born. She is testing many waters, but generally she is just taking it all in and really loving her baby brother. She likes to hold him and is very into her babies and mimicing mommy in everyway. She has been making us laugh as much as she always does. She is quite the character. I am putting a montage of more pictures taken the last few days. We feel so blessed and overwhelmed by the miracle of life. The Lord is so good! Mac and I have had many laughs also just enjoying all parts of life. It's been a fun journey! Happy New Year!
Friday, December 28, 2007
BRANTLEY IS HERE!!!
Hey Everyone!
Thank you for your prayers! Brantley finally arrived. After being admitted due to blood pressure and other factors, they decided to induce. We were so glad to have our suitcase in the car. We were admitted at 12 noon and had Brantley in our arms at 8:39 PM. He is 8 pounds 10.5 oz, 21 inches long and VERY healthy. He has brownish, blondish, redish hair. So, the jury is still out on what that will end up. He has blue eyes. We pushed for 30 minutes and had very little tearing. We feel so blessed. He is eating like a champ and is so laid back. Vivian is very proud of her baby brother. Enjoy the slideshow of the journey on 12/27/2007.... Brantley's birthday. Thank you for all your prayers.
Thank you for your prayers! Brantley finally arrived. After being admitted due to blood pressure and other factors, they decided to induce. We were so glad to have our suitcase in the car. We were admitted at 12 noon and had Brantley in our arms at 8:39 PM. He is 8 pounds 10.5 oz, 21 inches long and VERY healthy. He has brownish, blondish, redish hair. So, the jury is still out on what that will end up. He has blue eyes. We pushed for 30 minutes and had very little tearing. We feel so blessed. He is eating like a champ and is so laid back. Vivian is very proud of her baby brother. Enjoy the slideshow of the journey on 12/27/2007.... Brantley's birthday. Thank you for all your prayers.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Christmas Fun
We have had a busy fun Christmas! We are excited about the arrival of our son that should be here any day now. We will keep you posted. Enjoy some pictures and videos of our girl. Merry Christmas! Make sure your sound is turned up.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Things are Buzzing
We have been in HIGH get ready for baby mode. This week has been dedicated to rearranging and getting ready. Fun, but lots to do. We saw the doctor today and everything is progressing nicely. We also took the birth center tour, which made it even more real. If you are looking at the time stamp, you are realizing.. I am not sleeping so good. Tonight, I just gave up and decided to come and get some things done. Can you say NESTING! I am sure tomorrow/today I will be feeling it. The pain seems to come and go. I am very thankful for the break. This is really a neat part of the pregnancy. You know it won't be long until you hold this precious gift in your hands and praise God for the incredible miracle of life. With another child in the picture, it adds so much to this time. The other night, Vivian was laying on my tummy. It was just such a sweet time of her loving on me and her brother at the same time. I feel she will do great with the adjustment. Mac and I feel so blessed to have both of our children and just feel God is completeing something very beautiful in our lives by giving us these kids. It certainly keeps us on our toes.
This past month has been a fun one. We started out the month with a nice visit with my brother and his girlfriend, Anita. It was so cool to watch the bonding happen between them and Vivian. She talks about them pretty much everyday. We have explained that he and Anita are in Germany. So, now when she sees a plane she likes to talk about either Uncle Mike or Nana. It's cool how even with the distance, he can still be a very real part of her life. Then we moved through a couple weeks of illness. A cold was passed to all 3 of us. I am pretty much the only one left fighting.. only because mine turned into a sinus infection. Vivian is still loving preschool. Her teachers are amazing and incredible. Think about it.. a room of 2 year old children.. yikes! They are so creative and do such a great job with helping her grow and learn. Tomorrow is our first class party. As a person with experience (on the teacher's side) of class parties. I am very much looking forward to being the parent volunteer that shows up. I plan to post pictures of a catch up of the last few weeks soon. Please start praying for a smooth, easy delivery. Also, pray for the adjustment that lies ahead. Thanks!
This past month has been a fun one. We started out the month with a nice visit with my brother and his girlfriend, Anita. It was so cool to watch the bonding happen between them and Vivian. She talks about them pretty much everyday. We have explained that he and Anita are in Germany. So, now when she sees a plane she likes to talk about either Uncle Mike or Nana. It's cool how even with the distance, he can still be a very real part of her life. Then we moved through a couple weeks of illness. A cold was passed to all 3 of us. I am pretty much the only one left fighting.. only because mine turned into a sinus infection. Vivian is still loving preschool. Her teachers are amazing and incredible. Think about it.. a room of 2 year old children.. yikes! They are so creative and do such a great job with helping her grow and learn. Tomorrow is our first class party. As a person with experience (on the teacher's side) of class parties. I am very much looking forward to being the parent volunteer that shows up. I plan to post pictures of a catch up of the last few weeks soon. Please start praying for a smooth, easy delivery. Also, pray for the adjustment that lies ahead. Thanks!
Monday, October 29, 2007
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