We are so excited that little Emmett is finally here! We have been anxiously awaiting for this little man to arrive. We can't wait to meet him soon and wish that we could be there right now.
I am so proud of my sis! She did amazing!! She went in to be induced this morning and then called me at 2:00 pm saying that she was already having contractions. Everything happened so fast and she did so amazing! When I spoke with her on the phone she sounded incredible and it wasn't that long since she had him. WOW! She is one remarkable woman! I love her so much and wish that I could be right there with her and her beautiful little family of four---but soon! :o)
Outside my window... a storm is definitely brewing. These storms make me nervous--especially lately. We have had leaks--in Zech's room--finally fixed now so that is a relief! We have also had tornado warnings. Normally this wouldn't bother me too much, but we are living in a TRAILER. Where do we go? I was at the bookstore yesterday and talking with the wonderful lady that works there. Apparently we have a 'siren' that goes off when there are 'tornado' warnings and all of us trailer folk have to take cover in the school. That made me feel a little better--at least there is a plan in place. So Monday the siren went off--we were on the road and forced to pull over because the storm was so bad, so we missed all of that. There were tornado warnings for our little town of Caronport on Monday and tonight we have the same.
I am thankful...for so much lately, but I will admit sometimes it is so hard to be thankful for even the little things.
I am praying...for a lot, a real lot!
I am also praying...for peace, contentment, and a deeper relationship with the Lord.
I am thinking...about my dear sister and wondering when she is going to have that precious little baby. Can't wait to meet the new little 'Lee'! I am thinking about her being so uncomfortable, and so ready for the whole pregnancy thing to be over--especially in this heat! I totally feel for her right now!
I am also thinking....about how I am going to get my little girl to eat! She seems to have went on strike and doesn't want to eat! When she does eat, she is soooo picky and will only pick out certain items on her plate. It is way more of a struggle to get her to eat than it ever was with Zech. She would live off of bread I am sure, if she could. She is picky about what fruit she eats, the veggies and won't touch meat right now. She used to LOVE chicken and now she won't even try it. ERGHHHH!! I have made all sorts of muffins with all sorts of veggies and fruit in them and she will eat those. I know it is a control thing right now--totally. One night she will eat something--like cucumbers and love them and then tonight, she totally refused. So mommy is getting a little tough now! Oh but she does LOVE egg yolks---strange!
I am celebrating...that my little boy is done soccer for the year and did quite well. We did have to miss a week, as a consequence of his poor listening skills and bad behaviour, but this week he really did awesome. They played a little game tonight, got their team pictures, a medal and a Popsicle. He was so excited. The funniest moment was when he ran for the ball, picked it up, carried it in front of the net, put it down and kicked it and scored. He screamed 'I did it Mom' and ran for a high five! Ha! Then at one point he came over to me and told me that the kids were not sharing the ball with him and that it was supposed to be his turn. We obviously need to teach him about the 'game' aspect of soccer! :o)
I am also celebrating.......that our CIA fundraiser is over and went really well. I am so proud of the way that my group really came together and made this happen. We weren't even going to do it at first, but God had another plan. I know that I learned so much and saw God work in some pretty incredible ways and I hope that the rest of my group can say the same. We really miss everyone and our Church!
From the kitchen...chicken, corn on the cob and coleslaw.
I am wearing...a black skirt, and a red and white striped tank top with a bit of lace--I didn't have any clean shorts!
I am reading...the Bible and The Key to Your Child's Heart by Gary Smalley! Awesome book, I highly recommend it. I read it once already and then had to go out and buy my own copy! There are so many great ideas that I want to implement for our little family!
I am hoping...that I will hear about a job SOON!!
I am hearing...lots of fans--it is sooo hot!
I am creating...still trying to finish a one year layout I started with photos of Genesis from every month of her first year.
Around the house... I unpacked yet another box and sorted, sorted, sorted. One corner of the house is filled with stuff that we are going to sell at a garage sale--yup we are purging, purging, purging. I think we are going to advertise the sale as a 'toy sale' because that is mainly the stuff that we need to get rid of. They have way too many toys.
One of my favorite things...seeing my kids have fun playing outside and really enjoying this hot, humid summer weather. They both love to be outside and love to explore!
A few plans for the rest of the week...supper tomorrow with some new friends, Sears baby day sale on Saturday (I need some new sippy cups for Gigi--long story-blah) and Church on Sunday with some good ole relaxing, family time. There is a carnival being set up in town, so maybe we can check that out too!
Here is a picture thought I'm sharing with you....
I bought Zech some new smelly markers and all he wants to do is smell them. Forget the colouring, he just smells them. Although in this picture it looks like he was trying to eat them! What a kid!
" A woman can tell a lot about a guy by the kind of Dad he is."
Dear John,
This day is a special day to celebrate you and the amazing man of God you are, the wonderful husband you are and of course the incredible Dad you are! You have exceeded all of my dreams of the kind of man I wanted to spend my life with, and the man that would be the best father for my kids. God certainly knew what he was doing when he brought you into my life and made you the father of our amazing kids.
There was a moment when we were dating that I knew that you truly were the best choice for me and would be the best father in the whole world to the kids that we would have together. We were walking and having a really deep, intense conversation (one of many which is also why I love you so much) in Korea when you told me that you would die for me. You are the first person (besides Christ who did die for me, for us) that has ever told me that and it was from that moment on, that I knew what an amazing man God had blessed me with. You also left me speechless and I didn't know if I could say the same, but I know now.
Why do I know, well I have come to NOT fear death like I did before being a Christian and when you told me this, I had just become a Christian and still had a lot to learn. The more I learned about Christ and the ultimate sacrifice He made for us, the more I understood the magnitude of what you told me. Not to mention the promise of eternal life.... well you and I babe, we are going to be in eternity together and nothing can ever take that away from us and nothing can give me more peace and security than that. I would lay my life down for you and our precious kids. However, with you, you don't just say these things, you live it, and you show it by your actions! Not only would you do anything for me, but you would also do anything for those two precious kids of ours and you would lay your life down for them in a second and I see that in your words and actions every single day! You are awesome!
You are such an amazing father, so please do not ever doubt that. I know your fears, your tears and all the worries you have about being a good father and so does God. We are going to make mistakes as parents, that is a given. You however, have such a desire to do things right, to be the spiritual leader of our family, to teach, to guide, to lovingly discipline and most of all to show the unconditional love that Christ shows us each and every day, to our kids. You are an amazing example and I know that you are only going to grow stronger and get better in your role as a father as the years go by.
John, you are the father that even though you are extremely exhausted, you make the time to sit down and play with the kids. You make the best jungle gym ever! You play all sorts of silly games, that for some reason I just can't master. You get the best laughs and giggles out of both of our kids. Your sound effects...well, perhaps I should record them. I can't seem to make the same ones or do it properly, even Zech tries to correct me and tells me to do it like Daddy does. You put so much into getting to know your kids and having a relationship with both of them. I adore listening to your cuddle time with Zech and how you take time to ask him about his day, his thoughts, his feelings. It is no wonder he tells me that he misses you and loves you so much when you are away at work. I love seeing Genesis light up when she hears that you are home and she goes running to the door yelling 'dadda, dadda'! She even searches for you at night when you are working late, for her bedtime kiss and hug.
You get up to check on our kids in the middle of the night all of the time. Changing diapers has been your bonding time with our kids--wow! We know that we are important to you and a priority in your life because you sacrifice so much for us.
I know that a simple day like today could never ever honour or repay you for all that you have done, do and will do for us, so thank you. God Bless you always and we look forward to celebrating many more incredible days like today with you. You have been blessed with the best Father's day gift you could ever ask for-- leading your little man in prayer to accept Jesus into his heart!
Today was a day that I have prayed for, that I dream of, that I yearn for, but that I never thought would happen so soon.
Our beautiful little boy ACCEPTED JESUS INTO HIS HEART!!!!!!!!!
We had a party to celebrate and to ensure that he really knows what an incredibly special, and amazing day this is. I hope that it is a day he will never forget!
How is all happened:
First I will have to address a few misconceptions about Christianity that I know a lot of people have. Just because you go to church does not make you a Christian. Being a Christian and accepting the Lord Jesus into your heart is a personal decision that one must make and that NO ONE is forced into. Some may think that Zech is too young to know or understand, and I was a little worried about that, until my dear husband quoted some scripture and assured me that he is totally not. Yes, we talk to our kids about God, Jesus, Christianity all the time. We read the Bible regularly, we pray, we go to church, but it is still a personal choice for everyone including our kids, whether or not they will follow Jesus and desire to live their lives for Him. So our kids our not forced into believing, it is their personal choice and decision, but we are going to do everything possible to teach them about Christianity and answer any questions, doubts, etc. that they may have.
With that being said, Zechariah is and has always been extremely interested in the Bible, and in Jesus. He asks a tonne of questions, he tells me things that I am shocked that he has even remembered. He knows so many of the Bible stories and remembers little details about them extremely well. He has even corrected me numerous times! He has a heart of gold and he is our little encourager and our evangelist. He always tells us how much Jesus loves us, he tells strangers and he tells his family members. I think it is the most adorable thing ever, but there are some that are a little uncomfortable with this and give us some pretty strange looks--some that have been thoroughly insulted, but whatever! :o)
He loves to pray and will pray all on his own. Tonight he just prayed for his best little buddy who hurt his knee, and then he went on to pray for Genesis, daddy and mommy, and any 'owies' that we have--all by himself. When he found out his good friend Jamus broke his foot, he just closed his eyes and blurted out a prayer asking Jesus to heal Jamus' foot. We were both shocked and very proud--we did not prompt him, he just said let's pray and went to it! He thanks Jesus all the time for all of his aunts, uncles, grandma's, grandpa's, cousins and friends. It is so cute hearing him pray. He prays often for an airplane ride (thank goodness cause we are dying to go on a trip), the sun to come out so that he can play (it has been pretty rainy here) and he prays for all sorts of random but totally adorable things.
Now we have talked about Jesus being in our hearts and how we pray for those people that don't have Jesus in their hearts, but he has never really said anything to me about it. On Friday afternoon, I was making lunch and he was sitting at the table talking away to me. Out of the blue he turns to me and asks, "mommy do I have Jesus in my heart?". I didn't know what to say and how to handle it, I panicked! I said, I don't know, do you? How lame was that! We ate lunch, but it really bothered me how poorly I handled that and how I panicked. I have never had to have these conversations before, and I really didn't know what to do. That night I talked to John about it and told him what happened. He told me not to worry, that he would talk to him about it (bless his heart). Then today at breakfast, John asked Zechariah if he had asked me whether or not Jesus was in his heart. Zech perked right up and said 'yes'. John asked him if he wanted to have Jesus in his heart and he said 'yes'. So they said a little prayer right there and asked Jesus into his heart. I was in tears! We cheered and decided to have a party!
At lunch he told me that he was just so happy with Jesus and that Jesus was in his heart. He told me that he loves Jesus sooo much. That just melts my heart. The whole day he was telling me how we were going to have a party because Jesus was in his heart and that he was just soo happy. I know now that he really does understand and that this was a pretty special day in his eyes too!
We went and picked out a special cake, and some balloons. I wanted to get him a special book to commemorate this amazing day, but the campus bookstore was closed---we will go back. We had a special supper and then some cake. His best buddies came over and shared cake with him. We picked out some special balloons. A blue heart to signify Jesus in his heart and then a white one and a blue one that we wrote special messages on (he told me what to write) and sent them to heaven where all the angels were have a huge celebration too! Of course the blue one was especially for Jesus!
This was the best Father's Day present John could ever ask for and the most amazing day that we as Christian parents could ever have. It may not mean much to some, but to us, it is pretty darn amazing. We are so proud of our little boy and will do everything to encourage him, uplift him and support him in his walk with the Lord.
My Grandma crocheted this dress for my Mom and I think a matching one for my Aunty Elaine (correct me if I am wrong Aunty Elaine). It was then passed down to their cousin Shirley, who I believed also passed it on to her daughter Heidi. I would love to get pictures of all of the family members who it was passed down to, wearing it.
A few months ago, Mom brought this beautiful pink box with this very same dress inside of it. It was sent to her by I believe Shirley and now she passed it on to me for Genesis to wear. I LOVE, LOVE, love items like this. The history, the time and care it took to make this dress and then for it to be passed on to so many people over almost 60 years---so incredible! I hope to keep 'the dress' going down the family line!
On Gigi's first birthday, I pulled it out and put it on her. It is a little too big for her. As she was walking her toe got caught in the bottom part of the dress. She was a little upset about that, however once I put her in front of her new tea set, she was fine. I hope that once she grows into it, I can take her outside and get some nice pictures of her in it. Also, I have been having a hard time trying to figure out what to put under it. I just put a tank top that is two sizes too big for her. It covered her diaper and everything, but ideally I would need a slip. Now about 60 years ago that would have been easy to find, but where on earth would I get a slip for a one year old??!
I have always wanted to write my kids a letter and think that I need to start this tradition for their birthdays. So here it goes, hopefully my letter writing will improve over time too! ;o)
Dear Genesis,
There are so many things that I want to say to you and that I never want you to forget, so hopefully by making an annual letter to you, you will know how much you are loved, cherished and such blessing in our lives.
Your name means 'the beginning' and it holds such a significant place in our hearts, not only for you, but for our family as a whole. We pray each and everyday that you will be the beginning of some pretty profound changes within our family. We will do everything to ensure that you know that you are God's princess, and how much he loves you and desires to have a personal relationship with you. We will do everything to love, support, encourage and uplift you.
I want to be an example of a godly woman of faith to you and I desire to be a mentor to you, but I will warn you, I am not sure how exactly to do this and I am going to make mistakes. I will ask for forgiveness often and I will need a lot of grace and mercy from God (and you) to be this example in your life.
I can not believe that you are one! Where did this year go? You have grown so fast. We have enjoyed watching your many milestones and your sweet little personality develop. There have been countless nights where we have went to bed and shared all of the funny, amazing things you did that absolutely melted our hearts.
You have such a maternal instinct and really love your babies and real babies too! You get so upset if your big brother is upset and if you hear another baby upset. Our little cuddle-bug as we affectionately call you is suiting. You love to give hugs and lots of kisses and we love receiving them, even your big brother!
I thought that little girls were supposed to be 'less active' than boys. While you were an amazing baby, super content, smiley and easygoing, you are still one active little girl. I guess the fact that you have a really active big brother to keep up with, doesn't help. You are our monkey, you climb things that I never thought you could or would, and I find you in some pretty obscure places. You have places to go and it shows as you were rolling around at 3 months, crawling at 6 and walking at 11 months. I was hoping that you would really take your time!
You are also one strong minded little girl and while we knew to expect that having some incredibly strong minded genes run in the family, I will do everything to nurture that strength and teach you how to use it wisely (something that I am still working on, but have really come a long way with).
We nicknamed you the vacuum right when you were born. You impressed so many by how fast and furiously you could suck back a bottle. Then you really became our vacuum and any piece of lint, dust, fluff, whatever, you would find on the floor went into your mouth. I would have to check you constantly and it was almost like checking the lint trap on the dryer. You did give us a pretty good scare though when you decided to suck back a 'sticker'. That was one of the scariest moments of my life. It is also at times like those that I am reminded what a precious gift you are. I have always known that and will always know that, but sometimes we take things for granted and need a little reminder. However, this does not grant you permission to have any more scary, life threatening experiences or you will give us a heart attack (especially your Daddy)!
Genesis Faith, I love you more than words can say, more than my letters will ever be able to express. I am so blessed to have you in my life. You are so loved and cherished and please do not ever forget that.
Our prayer for you our little one is this verse: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
This was your Mommy and Daddy's wedding verse and has become a family verse for us now too. With God, there are endless possibilities and He will be the head of our family always!
