Happy birthday to me!

A really good friend of mine, Kelsey, and I have birthdays a couple days a part. Our husbands surprised us with a night at a resort!

Picture 1: giving kisses to a sweet boy who went into the pool for the first time. His little swim outfit got very wet and he didn't fuss at all. What a champ.

Picture 2: He loved sleeping on our bed for a morning nap. Of course, who wouldn't want to fall into a deep slumber on satin sheets?

Picture 3: What a hunk. Carrying around a baby in a pool. He caught my eye, that's for sure.

Picture 4: slumbering again, sweetly on those sheets.

Picture 5: does this kid love his dad or what?

Picture 6: Kelsey and I with our boys and her niece!

Not pictured are some sweet features of the resort. There was a Keurig in every room (joy joy joy joy), and a really cool area at night with fire pits for anyone to make s'mores.

Thank you honey, I love you:)

Busy Monday

Hello! Soon I want to post about the wonderful weekend my hubs surprised me with, it will take some uploading of pictures from our really neat camera.

So today I will post about our busy day. Nothing fancy, just trying to get things done around my home plus a grocery day, which meant little E got some grandma and grandpa time. Through a little sadness I handed him off to grandpa and went to conquer a few things from Costco. Then Walmart.
Ernie went through three outfits throughout the day, sometimes his poop can be quite alarming.

I emptied all things old and disgusting from the fridge. It was horrifying.

I poured a glass of almond milk and found out it is delicious in cold coffee. And it will be incredible over cereal tomorrow.

I began chopping a ton of strawberries that I bought on sale, I got 6 cases because the deal was so good. Plus bananas and peaches. Smoothie heaven at our house.

I conquered dishes that really only took one night to build up in my sink.

I folded some laundry with my kid babbling by my side, makes laundry way wonderful.

Stay tuned for what my Friday and Saturday were like!

Magnolia

I love singing this song to Ernie Brooks. It's a sweet song that he loves hearing. Ellie Holcomb's Magnolia album is so wonderful, it's one of those albums where every single song is good. Most of them are based on the Psalms. Plus the mandolin is incredible.  I can listen to a mandolin for hours.

Ernie's First Month

Well, baby Ernie has actually been a month for a couple weeks now. I've just been absent from the blogging world for awhile! I've been joyfully busy busy busy taking care of this fellow. There's endless things to learn with a newborn, so everyday is this wonderful adventure.

-Yesterday we threw our first outfit into the "this no longer fits" pile.

 sob

We love that he is getting bigger, but it's like the changes make you want to cry at the same time.

I still love the newborn onesies because they make him look his chubbiest. But I can tell they will only be able to work for a couple more weeks. At that point, through tears, I will fold up his new born out fits and tuck them away.

-He also has quite the little voice now, a little raspy, all boy type of voice.

-He loves being with Dad. And trust me, Dad loves being with him.

-God has been a Helper to me just as he promises. In the middle of the night at times, I'll hear baby crying and my tiredness can feel heavy. The Lord has, thankfully, reminded me that motherhood is something he has called me to, and whatever he calls me to he will surely help me and equip me, even at 2am when my body is weak and exhausted, He is definitely the Great Encourager.

We have had an incredible month of enjoying this sweet boy.

A night in Psalm 1

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1


Reading this next to a sleeping baby and listening to rain outside. This text encouraged me in my struggle to be consistently in my Bible, even the struggle to delight in it, as it says.

2 a.m

My little man is preferring to cuddle with mommy instead of falling back asleep. I'll take that anytime. Love you sweet boy.

Getting Big

Ten Days

On May 22, 2012 the Lord safely brought Ernesto Brooks to our arms. He has big eyes, a little round turned up nose, big lips, very long fingers and sweet little feet.

Laying on the surgery table just as the final steps were being made for his first seconds of life brought back a flood of memories...
And then he let out his first cry. Little Ernie's precious voice gave me overwhelming tears of joy. When you cry that hard as the mama during a c-section, it feels interesting; you're arms are tied down to the sides, your chest feels heavy, there's an oxygen mask, and the spinal makes you a bit loopy. Yet I couldn't help but cry and cry and cry as I could hear him and see him move. The Lord carried this baby in my womb every moment, and is still upholding each minute of his life.

Here he is:



Technically he is 11 days old today, I started to write this blog yesterday on day 10. Gets busy around here.

Favorite song mommy sings him to sleep: Nothing But The Blood of Jesus.
Most comfortable when: swaddled tight in his awesome blankets, almost all day long.
Favorite place: his swing, or mommy and daddy's arms.
Favorite past time: eating, eating, eating, and reading with mommy.
Cutest feature: his eyes that look like daddy's.
Funny moments: when he gets hiccups, every day! When he sneezes (3 times everytime). And when he shoots pee into the air several times a day (we've gotten better at catching it).


That's all for now. 










 

My Boy

You will be here in 4 days. I will see you, cry in thankfulness to the Lord and kiss your sweet face.

To The Women Who Struggle This Mothers Day

Perhaps this Mother's Day is difficult for you and your heart is exhausted from all the celebration. I know that feeling. Last year was my very first Mother's Day, it had also been just a bit more than a month since I had lost my firstborn. I remember going to church was too painful so I spent the day with Ernie. Now each Mother's day will come with the desire to have my little Haddon with me as his daddy and siblings gather to say how much they love me. How sweet it would have been to have him today. If you are approaching today having lost a child, or you have longed for a child and cannot have one, you should know your pain never goes unseen by the Lord. I pray that you hold on to this truth today:

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."
Psalm 34:18

One thing I keep tucked away during days like this is that while the Lord is gathered with families celebrating with their mother, He is also gathered with the families who are mourning.The Lord is able to both rejoice and weep with his children at the same time. Remember that when the Lord says he is near to the brokenhearted, it is a promise he keeps.