Our Date Day

So we have just begun to actually realize that in just a few short weeks we are going to have two cute babies to hang out with!! Holy cow!! So we decided to have a date day today!! I think it was the longest that we had ever left Maddie in the (almost) year of her life!! We dropped her off with Grammy early this afternoon and headed out to run some errands, have lunch and relax at Barnes and Noble!! We had such a wonderful time together!! I love my husband so much, he knows me SO well and understands me completely!! We had a great time laughing and chatting! We actually sat at Cheddar's for almost 2 hours talking about our life and all of the blessings we have been given up to this point!!! We talked about our hopes and dreams!! We talked about how we have changed and how our views on life have changed...it is so awesome to see how God has brought us so much closer together just through spending time together with Him through prayer and by being in His Word!!! Our babies have also helped us grow closer together, we truly work as a team to take care of Maddie and we are already gearing up to team tag taking care of our sweet Zack!! I could not ask for a better partner in life!! I am so thankful for Wyatt's wisdom and character, for his honesty and uncondtionalness!!! He is such an amazing man!! He was such an encouragement to me today (I have kind of had a rough week) but he just loved on me and told me what a great mommy and wife I was!! He always has such sweet things to say, it was such a blessing to me!!!

Tonight we went to some friends' house for a bar-b-que and it was just fun to be there, just Wyatt and I together!! We talked with our friends and laughed and remembered "old" times!! It was such an amazing day!! Thank you Father for sweet days like today!! Thank you for providing us with good friends, and wonderful family!!! Thank you Father for my amazing husband who follows hard after you each day!!! We love you!!!

Maddie's Birthday

Hello friends!! Happy July!! We cannot believe it!! Our daughter has been our lives for almost an entire year and it has been amazing!!! What an incredible journey!!! We knew that it was God's perfect timing for her to come into our lives, but nothing could have prepared us for the un-ending JOY we have experienced in the past year!! We were scared and unsure of our capabilities as parents, but God has prevailed and we have an amazing little girl! I will never forget when I saw the two positive pregnancy lines pop up, I thought "What in the world are we going to do with a baby?!?!" Now I know! She is such a beautiful blessing, teaching us patience and unconditional love!! She makes us laugh and has joined Wyatt and I together in an awesome way!!! She is so beautiful and happy!! She smiles all the time and loves to give hugs!!! Her laughter is like music to our ears and her smile can (and will) turn your entire day around!!! She is the joy of our lives, she is sweet and innocent, she is radiant and pure!! We think she is the most incredible person in the whole world!!

We had her 1st birthday party yesterday!! We wanted to make sure we got to celebrate her sweet little life before we started really preparing for Zack to come! It was SO much FUN!!!! My parents graciously opened up their home for us and we had a blast!! We just had a few close friends and family and we celebrated all day!!! Wyatt, Maddie and I got to my parents house around 11 where lunch was waiting for us!! As soon as we walked into the house Maddie saw her Grammy and squealed with delight!! Once again I am reminded of how blessed we are that my family lives so close!! Maddie knows her Grammy, Mze, Aunt Trina and Unky so well, and she loves them all so much!! She always makes sure she spends good time with each one of them, they all have a special relationship with her!! It is SO sweet!! After lunch Wyatt and my dad worked outside finishing the final touches of their beautiful landscaping!!! After an hour or so of working outside, Wyatt came in and we took off to run errands! This was special time for Grammy to put Maddie down for her nap!!! When we got back we only had an hour before the party and my sister and brother-in-law showed up to help!! They are wonderful!! At 4:00 p.m. the party started and everything looked amazing!! One by one our friends came to the party bringing thoughtful smiles and beautiful gifts for Maddie!! It is SO much fun that Maddie has so many good friends that are around her age!! It is awesome to watch her interact with these kiddos on a weekly basis!! We are also very blessed by some pretty wonderful friends!!! First we had each kiddo decorate their own cupcake to take home!! We had a variety of sprinkles and candy to decorate the cupcakes with! Then we had dinner: hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs, tator tots, macaroni and cheese, cottage cheese, jello and deviled eggs-- all of Maddie's favorites!! After dinner Maddie and her daddy opened presents!!! Everyone was SO thoughtful of her and she got some really fun new toys! Then it was time for cake!! It took her a minute to figure out that she could eat the cake, but when she tasted it, there was no going back! She had it smashed all over her face in just a matter of minutes!!! It was so fun to watch her experience even something as small as a piece of cake for the first time!!! She was absolutely delighted!!!

After everyone left, the 6 of us gathered in the living room and had a fun conversation remembering the time right before Maddie came! Then we started discussing this first year, and all of the precious memories it has brought!! Then we headed outside to plant Maddie's first tree!! It is very important to Wyatt and I that we have some of our own traditions that we start with our family!! The tree is the first of these traditions!! We plan to plant a tree with each of our children on their first birthday's, then on each birthday as they grow older we will take a picture of the tree with our kiddos!! Throughout the year Maddie and Zack will be able to watch the tree grow in each season, and watch how it changes and grows!! We wanted to plant the tree's at my parents house because I don't think they will ever move from their current house and we want these trees to be a part of their lives forever!! And, my dad was really excited about having them at their house!! It was awesome to watch Mze and Wyatt talk Maddie through the process! Of course all Maddie was interested in was playing in the dirt, and, she actually took her first bite if dirt, but it was such a special time!!! We ended the evening with good conversations and much laughter (and a very sleepy, but happy baby girl)!!!

It is pretty fun to see how God works in our lives!!! He is so good to us, even when we don't deserve it!! Father thank you for the gift of Maddie and for her life! Thank you for the blessing that she is to our family!! Please help us to grow her into a woman that follows hard after you!! We love you!!

Our Family

I am so continually thankful for our family!! I am so thankful that they live here and have such an active part in our lives! I am so thankful that they love us and shower us with love and affirmation!! I am so thankful for the way they love Maddie, and for the way they love Wyatt and I!!! This past weekend Wyatt and I got to go out on a date (which we don't do very often, we would never want any one of our family members to feel like we are taking advantage of them! And, we LOVE to hang out with our little girl!) But, when Grammy came to the door, we opened it slowly and Maddie let out the biggest shriek of excitement when she saw that Grammy was on the other side!! They have such a special bond!!! Grammy brought Maddie a new bubble maker and out the back door they went to play!! Maddie never thought twice about being with her Grammy. When we went to tell her good-bye, she barely even noticed because she was hanging out with her Grammy!!! It was so special!! Of course being the mommy that I am, I called to check in several times, and each time they were laughing at each other, having a fabulous time!!! My mom just beams, she is an AMAZING Grammy! She was an awesome mom, but she has embraced this new role perfectly!! We are SO thankful for her!!! When we got home that night, Maddie was completely passed out (she slept for 13 hours!!), and Grammy was alomst asleep on the couch! They had worn one another out!! It was so precious!!!

Maddie also has such a special relationship with her Aunt Trina and Unky!! We had our Sunday school class over on Monday for Memorial day and we had a blast!! We are also blessed because Maddie knows each one of the couples quite well and she loves all of them!! She is usually more than willing to go to any one of them, but, she didn't want anyone more than she wanted Trina and Unky!! She just went back and forth between the two of them all night!! It was SO sweet!!! Unky also beams when he is with Maddie, I never thought he would be a real "kid-person" (especially when it came to having girls) but he has proven me totally wrong!! He loves Maddie so much, it is amazing to see!! They are going to be awesome parents!!!

My dad left for a mission trip a week ago today!! So, Maddie and I got up early to go see him off!!! Sometimes she acts a little afraid of him at first because he is so big. But on Wednesday, she held her arms right out to him and snuggled against his chest for the 30 minutes we got to hang out with him!!! He was SO happy to have her there!! He also had a special relationship with her, he promises to take her on so many adventures, and I think she is pretty excited!! He is her special Mze, her partner in crime!! They have a wonderful bond!!

Finally, I am SO thankful for my incredible husband who loves us so much!! He continually puts us first, even when it is hard!! He has a pretty tough schedule at work, he is challenged every day, yet he always comes home with a smile!! He is always so excited to see us and spend time with us!!! We have so much fun together as a family, we are comtinually amazed at the blessings God bestows upon us!! Wyatt is so Godly and wise and he continues to mold and make our family into a family who loves and wholeheartedly serves God!! That is our goal in life...to follow hard after Christ no matter what!!! Please pray for us as we continue to seek God will for our lives every day!!! We are SO thankful!!

A Thankful Heart!

What a wonderful weekend it has been!! There is nothing better than getting to hang out with the people that you love all weekend long!!! Maddie and I LOVED having Wyatt home all weekend!! We had just enough plans to keep us busy, but not too many so that we feel totally wiped out!!! We got to spend Friday night as a family, just the three of us which was awesome!!! We just hung out and played together, it is so amazing to watch Maddie and Wyatt together!! They love each other so much, and they have SO MUCH fun together!!! I fall in love with both of them more and more very day!! (I didn't think it was possible, but it is! They are amazing!!) On Saturday we had a rocking good time with Tara's baby shower!! It was the perfect amount of people and the perfect amount of time!!!! We talked and laughed and ate and laughed some more!!! We love the Lale's so much and are so excited to share in this special time with them!! Over the past few years they have become so dear to us, it is awesome to see them at this stage in their lives!! Saturday night Wyatt and I got to go out on date just the two of us, which was wonderful!!! We re-lived some of our dating favorites...we ate at Culver's, shopped at the mall, had ice cream, and hung out at Barnes and Noble, talking and reading! It was just what we needed!!

Sunday's are always a blessing for the simple fact that we LOVE our church and the group of friends we have there!! I don't know what we would do without them!! We have amazing Sunday school class teachers who love us and who love God and who truly desire to share God's Word with us in an understandable and applicable manner!!! We are so blessed to have them in our lives!! One of the couples in our class is moving away, and it is so cool to see how our class has embraced them, showering them with love and affirmation that we will always be here!!! That is what fellowship is about!! Building one another up, walking beside each other when life gets hard!! Wyatt and I praise God for the people He has brought into our lives through our class and through our church!!! We were blessed again this afternoon as we gathered for our 3rd annual Memorial Day Party!! I didn't realize it, but we have held it at our house for the past 3 years and two different couples told us how much they looked forward to it every year!!! Once again, we spent the evening laughing and talking about good times we have shared in together!! It was awesome!!!

We are looking forward to this week!! We are excited to see how God will move in our lives as we serve Him daily!! As I sat by my friend in church yesterday, she wept at God's graciousness in our lives!! We are so undeserving, yet he continues to bless us, even in the smallest of ways!!! Thank you Father for your unconditional grace and love! We love you so much!!

Play Dates

Play dates!! :) I love them!! They are a must when you have little ones!! I don't think I quite understood what they were until Miss Maddie came along!! Now we LOVE them and look forward to our weekly play dates with our friends!!! Maddie and I have had such a fun week, simply by hanging out with people that are going through the exact stages of life as we are! What a blessing!! I love the conversations that mommies have, they are so fun! They can be as simple as "Guess what my kiddo is doing now..." to "the most embarrassing things happened to me the other day!" you know that no matter what you share, another mom will have had a similar situation that you can all laugh about!! The time that we get to spend together is so priceless!! I used to think that you had to spend money in order to have fun, but the past few weeks (and months) have proven me so wrong!! I love getting together with other women and their children to live life together!! I have learned SO much through the conversations that I have had in my short time as a mommy!!! And, Maddie loves getting to be around other people and children, it is SO good for her!! It is so cool to see how God works through even the smallest thing like a play date to bless us, His kiddos!!! I have been SO blessed, especially this week!!

Thank you Father for knowing us so well, and for taking such good care of us, despite ourselves!! I love you!!

A Great week...so far!

Hi friends!! What a wonderful week is has been, and it is only Wednesday evening!! We had a great weekend celebrating with my dad his 30 years at CCH! What an accomplishment it is for him to have had the same job for 30 years, and STILL be going strong!!! I am amazed at my dad everyday, He loves the Lord so much and strives hard to follow after him every single day!! He is still human mind you, he is certainly not perfect!! But I think he is a wonderful man of God and it was an honor to honor him on Saturday night!! THANKS to all of you who came to celebrate!!! It was an extra blessing to have his best friend, surprise my dad for the weekend!! What a response, my dad was speechless for almost a minute!! :):) My "Uncle" Rick is so special to me!! He performed much of my wedding ceremony and presented it with as much emotion and love as if it were his own daughter!! He was there the day I was born and the day I got married! This time I was so proud to introduce him to my precious daughter!! He was so excited to meet her!!! It was a wonderful weekend of memories and laughter, we are SO blessed!! :)

Monday was wonderful because I got to spend the day with my wonderful and dear friend Katie!! Mondays are our special days together (with our kiddos) and I treasure each Monday so much!! I am so amazed that God has blessed me with such good friends!!! We chatted and laughed and ate together! It was perfect!! It is so fun to share life with amazing friends who are walking next to you in your Faith, and, throughout life! Our babies are due about a week a part! It has been so much fun to be pregnant with Katie!!

Wyatt got home early on Monday evening so we went for a walk and played with Maddie together! What a great evening!

Tuesday was fun because it was the last MOPS of the year! We chatted and chatted and laughed together!! It is so nice to be around a group of women who love God and serve Him in all that do!! I am always inspired by the ladies that I get to hang out with at MOPs!! I am already looking forward to next years MOPs when some of my dearest friends join me!! (You know who you are!!!:):)) Tuesday evening was a joy due to our Women's banquet! There were 130 ladies there!! AMAZING!! It was just a good time of fellowship, and I think my devotion went well!! My hope is that someone (at least one person) was blessed my the words that God gave me!! If nothing else, I learned A LOT about what it means to have spiritual gifts and how to use them for the glory of my God!!!

Today was our day to just stay at home!! It was wonderful!!! We had Katie and Max come over for lunch and we chatted and chatted, and it was perfect!!!

I can't WAIT to see what God has in store for us in these next few days!!!

Spiritual Gifts

Hi guys!! I have been asked to speak at our Women's banquet at church next month and the topic is Spiritual Gifts!! I am very nervous, speaking is not necessarily one of my spiritual gifts, but I am honored that they thought to ask me!! Will you please be praying for me as I search God's word about what He says about Spiritual gifts!?!? Will you also pray that I would not use my words but His!! Also, if you have any thoughts on this topic, I would love to hear them!! THANKS!!!

1 Peter 4:10 "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

My Favorite Verses

I found my "old" Bible today as I was cleaning through a few things!! I LOVE this Bible so much because it was the first Bible that was actually mine, and not one that we just had laying around the house! It lovingly (but very faded) says my name on the front: Christina Embree, it is purple in color, and it is very worn!! I love seeing my maiden name of the front cover! I haven't had that last name for almost 4 years,but it always feels good to hear!!! It reminds me of where I came from!! As I am looking through my Bible I am reminded of some of my absolutely favorite passages!! I just wanted to share a few of those with you all today!! As I delve deeper and deeper into God's Word I am astounded by His wisdom and knowledge of us, His children!! He knew us so well, even before we were even born!!! His Word is amazing, and has so many answers to our questions, and, verses of encouragement and love meant just for us!!! What a MIGHTY God we serve!!!!

One of my dear friends has this verse set in her e-mail and anytime she sends me something I read it and am encouraged!! She has been through A LOT in life but still holds strong to her faithful relationship with the Lord!! She is a huge encouragement to me!!!
"I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16:8 --AMEN!!! I WILL NOT be shaken, not by anything!!! Thank you Father for this promise!!!

I also love Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight!"

I went to this verse A LOT during my college years when I didn't know who or what I wanted to be!!!
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!" Jeremiah 29:11.

This is a constant reminder of how I should live my life!
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house! In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me!" John 14:6

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16

These are just a few verses...I hope to post more later this week!! I hope you are encouraged!! Father, thank you for your Word and for all of the guidance you give us in life!! I love you!!!

Precious Moments

You all know that as parents we often get to have precious moment's with our kiddos!! Really, every day that we get to live with our babies here on this earth is a precious monet! But, being at stay at home mom, I feel like I get to see these moments every single day!!! For example, today Maddie started dancing to music!! It is absolutely the cutest thing I have ever seen her do (up until this second at least!!) She was sitting on our bed watching her praise music DVD while I was getting ready! When I looked over at her, she was bopping to the praise song!! It brought me so much joy!! Another precious moment was last night! I went out with a couple of girl friends and when I got home, Maddie and Wyatt were sitting on the couch together. Wyatt was holding Maddie and she was all bundled up in her jammies with a soft blanket tucked around her. She was almost asleep, but every once and awhile she would reach up and touch his chin, just to make sure he was still there. Then she would open her eyes to give him the sweetest smile you have ever seen a daughter give her daddy!! WOW, what a precious moment!! Maddie is so alert and loves to take in the things around her so she does this head tilt thing where she looks around you, or over your head (when you are sitting down), it is hilarious!! We love all of the precious moments we have with her!! She is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to our family!!! Before we had Maddie in our lives, people told us that having a baby would change everything...some people made it sound like our baby would change our lives for the negative!! For those people I feel sad!! Maddie has changed our lives so much in such JOYFUL ways!! Sure, being parents is hard at times, you have to become selfless (which I am still working on) but it absolutely one of the best responsibilities that God has ever blessed us with!! We are in awe of our daughter every single day!!!

Last night before we went to bed, we had a precious moment with our son!! I was laying on my side and he started kicking my stomach so hard!! Wyatt got to feel him kick for the first time!! It was awesome!!! We are so excited to meet baby Zack (or as Wyatt calls him-the Zack attack!) God obviously had some amazing plans for our family, I can't wait to see what they are!!!

It's a BOY!!!

Wow!! Wasn't it about this time last year that I was writing about the sex of our first new baby!! Well, here we are again, time flies when you are having fun!! Last Monday Wyatt and I found out that on, or before, August 14th we are going to have our first son to join Miss Maddie and our family!! At first we were a bit surprised, I wasn't expecting that at all!! But we are absolutely thrilled!!! Of course we had to go out and buy a few blue things to hang in his closet!! We get to be blessed with a boy and a girl, the perfect mixture!! We are so excited that we get to experience life with Barbies and bows and frills, and, with sports and dirt and trucks!! We feel so blessed!! We are honored that God has chosen Wyatt and I to raise both a boy and a girl!! We could not be more excited!! Thank you Father for your many blessings!!

So my daughter has just started doing something new that I wondered if anyone else's child had done! She now has four teeth two on top and two on bottom!! She started grinding them yesterday!! I know this is not good for her teeth and it makes a terrible sound, but how do I get her to stop??? Any ideas?? Do you think that since these teeth kind of new and exciting she will just get past it?? Thoughts?? Ideas?? Advice??

Hope you all had an amazing Easter!!

Friends

Hi! As I look back over the past few years I realize how much change does affect our lives!! I am not really big on change, as in I struggle with it a lot at times, but I know that there are different seasons of life! I think I have grown to love these seasons over the past few months!! Just today Maddie and I had a play date with a girl that I went to college with and her son. Our kiddos are only a month and a day apart, and our husbands are good friends, but I hadn't seen her in probably two months!! It was so fun to catch up with her right where we left off!! I love friends like that!! Friends that don't expect you to be any less than exactly who you are!!! On Tuesday night I had a girls night out with a good frined from high school. It was so much fun to go back in time with her and talk about things we did in high school!! We also talked about our upcoming 10 year reunion and how much fun it was going to be to remember all of the people we knew in school!! Again, I haven't seen her in a month or so, but we just picked right up and talked for 2 hours!! Then of course I have the friends that I see on a daily basis who mean the world to me! We are rasing our kids together and enjoying life together daily as we walk through life together!! It is amazing how people drift in and out of our lives every day. For some friends, for a time, they seem to change the path of our lives. Some of them stay and some of them go, but the ones who make the biggest impact (at least to me) are the friends that stay the same to you as time goes by!! (Not that they stay the same, but they they grow with you.) Knowing that you can count on them to be unconditional friend even when you have a bad day, or just need someone to cry to!! Many of my friends have seen me in all stages of my life, and are still here!! We laugh together and cry together, we call one another when we are SO excited and we hold each other on bad days!! For all of you, I am trully grateful!! I am SO BLESSED by so many wonderful people in my life!!!! Thank you for refining me and for being there for me every single day!!! I love you all!!!

"A friend loves at all times...!" Proverbs 17:17

Our week, is it gone already?!

What an awesome week it has been!! I am continually thankful for all of the blessings God bestows upon our family!! On Sunday, church was wonderful! Our Sunday school class is meeting in a larger room to acommodate our always growing class! It is always SO good to be in class with our friends and our thoughtful leaders!! Ace is so good at directing our attention to God's Word and teaching us how different passages apply so closely to our lives! Sometimes it is so hard to imagine why I don't spend more time in God's Word. It is SO GOOD!! There are so many answers to our questions and downfalls! He encourages us so much through His words and experiences!! What a MIGHTY God we serve!!



Sunday afternoon was a blast at the Duggers!! They have a beautiful new home that is so warm and welcoming! It was so much fun to sit upstairs with the other girls (and our kiddos) and chat and laugh about life! We were having so much fun, the game was over before we even knew it! :) Thanks Duggers for being awesome hosts!!



Monday's are always a blessing because Maddie and I get together with our best friends Katie and Max! We were going through an awesome study called "Created to be His Help Meet," and we finished it up on Monday! I have learned so much through this book and through my conversations with Katie! It is so nice to have such an honest, loving friend who you can discuss anything with! I am continually blessed by our friendships with the Ramsey's!! After our Bible study we shopped at Aldi's and had lunch together!! It was a great day!!



Tuesday was my birthday and it was a ton of fun!! We had breakfast with a good friend and had lunch with my Sister, Mom, Dayle and Griffin!! Then that evening Wyatt made special plans for us to go out to dinner with my sister and brother-in-law. My mom joined us for dessert, then we shopped at Target with birthday money! :)!! It was a great relaxing evening with my wonderful family!! I love my husband so much!! He always makes my birthday special, and even at 28, I love it!! He is so thoughtful and he knows me so well!! I fall more and more in love with him every single day!!



Wednesday was also an awesome day! Maddie and I had lunch with a friend then my dad (and friend A.J.) came to hang up some of my new birthday gifts!! :) They look fabulous! I just kept walking through my house yesterday to see all of their handy work! :) That night was our Valentine's Party and it was fun as well!! There is nothing better then sitting around with your good friends laughing and talking and "picking" on one another!! Again, I am SO thankful for the girls in our Sunday school class, we have such a unique bond that holds so strong!!

Thursday was kind of our "rest" day since we had been going all week!! So Maddie and I had some good time together!! She loves to play with her toys, so we played on the floor and in her room, and in my room! That evening we had family night and my Grandparents came!! I am SO thankful for my Grandparents! My mom and dad had my sister and I when they were young (thus my Grandparents were young also) so Catrina and I have gotten to "grow up" with our Grandparents!! We know them so well and they know us so well!! It is fun to see how much they love Maddie!

Friday was amazing too!! We had lunch with Katie, Max, Anna and Titus and just sat around together and chatted! It is wonderful to have Godly girlfriends! We just talked and laughed, I felt sorry for the guy sitting around us, I am sure he found out stuff about us that he didn't want to know!! :):) Friday night some of my girlfriends took me out!! We had dinner at Cheddar's then came back to my house for cake and chatting!! It was SO much fun and very relaxing!!

Saturday was another day of rest for Maddie and I! We ran some errands in the morning then went out with Wyatt for lunch!! That evening we went to the Harshman's for a fun birthday party for our friend Justin!! There was fun fellowship and a delicious cake! :) (Awesome job Sarah!!!)

By-the-way---I am going to try to memorize scripture every week starting this week!! Some of these scrptures I know bits and pieces of, but these days I cling to scripture as I wait on God's perfect timing in our lives!! I have been struggling with worrying lately, and scripture is one of my favorite passages, so I will leave you with it!!!

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again REJOICE! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or recieved or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you!" Philippians 4:4-9

The JOY in Life!!

There is so much joy in life!! I am experiencing it so much these days!!! I think JOY is something that sometimes you have to seek out, it is not always obvious! But, other times JOY is so exciting that you can't help but see it and feel it!! Here are a few reasons I am JOYful!!!

**I have an AMAZING husband who knows me so well and STILL LOVES ME!!! :) (This is quite surpring to me some days!!:)) We have been together for over six years, yet I still get excited when I know we are going to get to spend time together just us, and, with our precious daughter!! God has blessed me so lovingly through him, I can't help but feel God's love for me when I think of how He brought us together! I am so thankful!!

**I am so joyful for my beautiful daughter!! We didn't think we were ready for a baby, but we totally were!! She lights up our lives every single day!!! She is my pride and joy, I love to hear her laugh and see her smile!! I love the way she loves me!! I am amazed that God saw it fit for Wyatt and I to raise her and have her in our lives!! She is our sweet little gift!! I LOVE being at home with her watching her experience life!! She is amazing!!

**I am joyful for wonderful friends!!! I love having lunch each week with different friends, talking and laughing and sharing!! I love how I can have such a unique and fun friendship with each one of my dearest friends, knowing that I could call any of them at any time and find encouragement, support and love! I look forward to raising my children with their children and living life together with much fun and fellowship!!

** I LOVE having my family close!!! I am eternally thankful for the impact my mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law have on our lives every single day!!! I love it that my sister, my mom, Maddie and I can have lunch together every week and always have stuff to talk about!! I love picking on my dad and exchanging e-mails with him, encouraging one another!!! I feel SO blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with them!!! They are my life support!

**Finally, I am JOYful because I have a Savior who died for my sins and covers me with His grace every single day!!! (Boy do I need that grace!! :)) I am thankful that He has a plan for my life and that it is a great secret that He reveals to me piece by piece, one day at a time!! I praise Him for my JOY and for providing me with so much to be thankful for!!!

Is anyone still out there?

Hello friends!! I don't know if anyone checks this anymore, but I thought I would write anyway!! There has been so much going on, so many exciting things to tell about!! So I guess I will jump right in!


Maddie is now 6 months old!! She is absolutely amazing!! She smiles and giggles all the time!! She loves her daddy and our kitty Rajah!! She also loves her Grammy, Mze, Aunt Trina and Unky!! She is so beautiful and so joyful!! She loves everyone and anyone who will pay attention to her!! Wyatt and I absolutely adore her!! She is the light of our lives!! She makes us smile like no one else can!! Being a mom is amazing, although I always thought I was an avid prayer, my prayer life has changed substantially since Maddie came!! :) Nothing that we do goes uncovered by prayer! I desperately want to raise my daughter to know and follow hard after Christ!! We pray every morning, noon and night together with Maddie, it is such good bonding time with her and it draws Wyatt and I closer together as parents also! It is amazing!! She is our precious little blessing!!

We had a wonderful Christmas!! We attended lots of fun Christmas parties leading up to the week of Christmas! Wyatt was able to take off about 10 days so we could spend time together as a family!! We got to be home together for the morning then we went to my parent's house for the rest of the day!! We spent hours opening presents and laughing and talking together!! We are SO blessed to have my family so close!! They are such a huge source of encouragement and love! They love Maddie so much, it is fun to watch my mom and dad interact with her!! We got the surprise of our lives the weekend before Christmas!! We found out that we are pregnant again!! WHAT?!!?!? We are due in August, just a month after Maddie's first birthday!! For about 4 days I really struggled with the idea of being pregnant again, but now I know that this is just God's perfect Will for us!! His timing is always perfect and who am I to question Him?? We are really excited about having another baby!! What an adventure this next year will be!!! (PLEASE be praying for us!! :):))

We had a fun weekend this past weekend!!! This past weekend we all took a zooming trip to Illinois to go to my Great-Grandpa (so Maddie's Great-Great Grandpa's) 95th birthday party!! It was awesome!! All of our family was there celebrating his life!!! I can't imagine what it would be like to have lived for 95 years! My Great-Grandma died about 4 years ago and he has been living in a really nice retirement village since then!! There were 125 guests at his party and the majority of the guests were his friends from where he lived! It was awesome to see the out pouring of love and support they offered!! It was also very cool to introduce my daughter to him! Everyone was so proud of Maddie, especially her Mze and my Grandma!! (for those of you who don't know, my dad is "Mze" which is African for grandpa! While my dad was in Africa last year the tribe he was with appointed him as an elder in their church, thus why my dad thinks he is now African and must go by Mze!! He is so funny!!)

I hope you all are doing well!! We look forward to spending some time with you all in the next few weeks and months!! Hope your week is blessed!!!

It's Fall

Hello Friends! I hope your fall season is wonderful, it is always so much fun to have cooler weather and watch the leaves change!! Today was such a beautiful day, I opened our windows this morning and Maddie and I have been enjoying the gorgeous weather all day!!

The past few months have been so full of change for our little family!!! Maddie finally made her debut in July and we are thankful for her every single day!! She is our little blessing, she makes us laugh with her cuteness!! She holds her head up so well and is quite strong!! She is working on sitting up, she is going to master it soon, she gets this very determined look on her face every time we work on it! It is adorable!! She is so much fun to be with, I enjoy staying home with her so much!!! We love having play dates and hanging out with our friends!! We are so blessed with so many kids that are around Maddie's age. It is is much fun to get together with friends to watch their children grow up!! We are so BLESSED!!! We are looking forward to a fun trip to the Pumpkin patch next week, it will be an adventure!!! more on this adventure to come! :)

We are staying very busy!! I am working about 8 hours a week with Griffin! He is so sweet, he loves Maddie so much!! In the car he holds her hand "so she won't be sad!" He helps rock her to sleep, he is so good with her!! Although, last week we were in the car and Maddie was crying. I turned around to check on them and Griffin looked straight at me and said, "TT, next time Maddie is going to sit up in the front with you, she is too loud!!" It was hilarious!!

Wyatt is crazy busy at work!! For only being at BKD for 2 years, they sure seem to like him alto! :) He works a lot with specific partners, he really enjoys it!! He is traveling less which is a HUGE blessing to us! We love having him at home!! We are still busy being forwarding agents for a very special couple! It is so fun to hear how they are growing and learning new things! I feel that sometimes we live through them listening to all of their stories and hearing how God is working! It is pretty amazing!!!

There is so much to look forward to!! It is so much fun to experience each season with Maddie, she brings us so much joy!! And, I hear it only gets better!!

I hope you all are experienceing much joy today! God is so good to us! Love to you all!!

She is HERE!!

Our daughter is finally here!! YAY!!! She arrived at 8:13 p.m. on July 23rd!! She is an incredible girl!! She is so beautiful and fun!! She has an amazing smile and a great giggle!! I love being at home with her watching her experience new things every day!!! She is growing so much, I can't believe she is almost 8 weeks old!!! WOW! Where does the time go??? Wyatt is such a great daddy!! Maddie love shim so much, anytime he walks into a room and swueals with delight at the sight of here dad!! Her smile stretches all the way across her face!! It has been awesome watching Wyatt become a daddy! I always knew he would be a wonderful dad, but I never expected him to be SO wonderful!! I feel so blessed to have him in my life!!! Please continue to watch our Picasa web site as we post new pictures of Maddie every few days!! She is such a JOY!! Love to you all!!

Is it time yet??

We are now exactly one week away from baby Maddie's due date!! Whoo-hoo!! We are so excited and ready for her to come!! I can't WAIT to see what she looks like and who her personality resembles! :) All of her baby furniture is assembled and her cool art has been hung in her room! Her bag is packed and we are ready, I think!! It is pretty amazing to think about everything that goes into preparing for a baby...are you ever really ready??

We have an sonogram on Friday, so please be praying for that. We will be able to see how big Maddie is, and at that time, we will make a "birth plan," (will they induce me, will we wait her out, etc.) I can't wait to see her again!! It feels like the 20 week mark was a year ago! :) Please do be praying though, we want a safe and healthy delivery and a happy joyful baby girl!!!

We have had a busy week this week. My dad is re-roofing their house so Wyatt and my brother-in-law have been working hard with him on that!! Tonight my sister and I are throwing a surprise birthday party for my mom. Her actual birthday is next Wednesday, (Maddie's due date), so we thought it would be fun to surprise her early!! I hope she is surprised!

Hope everyone is doing well!! Hopefully my next post will be about our new baby!! Love to you all! :)

Time Flies When You Are Having FUN!!

Hello all!! WOW!! Can you guys believe that it is already July?!!? I cannot believe it!! Where has this year gone??? We are now only 18 days away from our due date!! It is so exciting yet a little scary all at the same time! Maddie's room is all ready for her, she has beautiful clothes, fun toys and a lot of loving "aunts" and "uncles" waiting for her to arrive!!! Her Grandma and Grandpa E. couldn't be more excited for her arrival. My dad (Grandpa E.) has just recently returned from Africa. His luggage got lost, but in his carry-on he had the most beloved gift he brought back, and it was for his little Cheetah. My dad has given baby Maddie the nickname "Cheetah" because he loves Africa, and he thinks all of our children should have special African names, so he has given Maddie the first one! It is his special name for her, we think it is pretty sweet!!! He brought her a little Cheetah carved out of soapstone. It is pretty cute, it is sitting on her bookshelf! He also brought her a little bracelet!! My parents are going to be wonderful grandparents!!

Wyatt is keeping busy at work! He moved to a "Supercube" on the 9th floor which was very exciting! :) He now resides among the Tax people!! He has been in town, which is a huge blessing!! Please do keep us in your prayers as he will have to travel for 12 days in August! But until then, he will be here!!! I am still nannying about two days a week! It has been so nice to be at home!! I have gotten to hang out with some wonderful friends and our house is cleaner than ever! :)

We had a wonderful 4th of July!! We spent the afternoon at my mom and dad's with my sister and brother-in-law and my grandparents. My parents of course made way too much food, but we had a blast eating and talking and swimming!! Then that evening we had a few people over for the amazing display of fireworks that the city of Nixa puts on at the Community Center!! It was so fun to sit on our deck and watch! My dad and a few of our friends even provided music! :):) It was SO MUCH FUN!!!

We hope you all had a happy and safe holiday!! Take care friends!!

Baby Stuff

Our baby furniture is here!!! YAY!! We set it up on Monday evening and it looks SO beautiful!! Actually my dad set it up, my mom and I "supervised!" :):) And, Wyatt and our friend Luther hung our chair rail! I am so excited about it!! The room looks so pretty, I can't WAIT to bring Maddie home to it!! She has so many fun things to wear and to play with! I can't WAIT to read her all of her little books! I now have Monday' s and Wednesday's off which is a huge blessing so I spent all day today putting away Maddie's clothes and organizing her closet!! I am starting to get into that "nesting" stage, can you tell??
I am so excited about this weekend!! Todd and Paige are coming into town for his brothers wedding!! It is going to be a grand time! I can't WAIT to see Todd and Paige all dressed up in their fancy clothes! Then on Sunday we have the Memorial Day party at the Lale's, I am totally pumped! I am constantly amazed at how God blesses His people!! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends! Hope you guys have an awesome rest of the week!! Take care friends!!

Excitement

Hi friends!! I am sorry that this new post is looooong overdue!! I forgot my password and could not get it reset for the longest time!! But alas, I am back!!!
It has been crazy times since my last post!! I am now out of school!! Whoo-hoo!!!! Our last day was a week ago today!! It was a wonderful day! We only had a half day of school, then the parents and teachers surprised me with a baby shower! It was so much fun to have all of the parents (mostly moms) and teachers in the same room! They blessed me with much wisdom, advice, encouragement, laughter and love!! It was a wonderful day!!! I have loved teaching so much, but I am glad the year is done!! I hope to go back to teaching at some point, maybe when it is time to send our kids to Gloria Deo, I will go back to teach there! It is a wonderful school and I highly recommend it!!! But for now, I am so glad the year is over!!
Baby Maddie's room is now painted, we have her bedding in and are just waiting for the chair rail to be hung before we move in her furniture! Her room is so cute!! I can't WAIT to get everything in there and hang stuff on the walls!! I can't wait to put away all of her adorable little clothes! Mostly though, I can't wait to meet her!! I think about her all the time wondering what she will look like and what her personality will be. It is amazing to think that she will be here in less than 11 weeks!! Nine months seems like SO long, surely I can wait 11 more weeks! We are thankful because we feel that Maddie certainly has a wonderful group of "aunts" and "uncles" to hang out with! :):) Praise God for good friends!!
We have been blessed by three baby showers already, all in the same week!! It was a crazy week!! :) (However, we did enjoy some delicious CAKE!!!) We are overwhelmed by the love and thoughtfulness of our friends!! Thank you so much for being excited for us and for being so willing to help us and celebrate with us!! We love you!
This past weekend was an awesome weekend with our Sunday school class!! We had our marriage retreat in Branson!! Angela and Adam were able to get the condos for the weekend and we all spent the weekend together talking and laughing and learning about how to make our marriages better!! It was a great weekend of growth in friendships and our marriages!! We are blessed!!!
I am still working with Griffin, at least until July 1st. Then I will hand him over to my sister as we wait for the arrival of our daughter!! WOW! Exciting times are upon us!! Hope you are all well!!!